Continued progress for KONGSBERG

Chief Executive Officer Jan Erik Korssjøen

Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) continued its positive performance in Q2. The Group increased its Q2 operating revenues, operating profit and operating margin from last year. Operating revenues totalled MNOK 2 271 (MNOK 1 567), up 44.9 per cent, and the operating profit (EBITA) came to MNOK 196 (MNOK 102). "KONGSBERG has been making progress for several years and we are pleased to see this performance trend continuing", states Chief Executive Officer Jan Erik Korssjøen.

"The recent contract for the new Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is the largest contract KONGSBERG has ever landed. There has also been a good influx of other new orders. Consequently, the backlog is continuing to rise for both Offshore & Merchant Marine and Defence & Aerospace. New orders in Q2 added up to no less than MNOK 5 525 (MNOK 1 929), and the backlog of orders at end-quarter came to MNOK 10 928 (MNOK 5 562). This will keep us busy for a number of years", continues Korssjøen. At mid-year, KONGSBERG reported operating revenues of MNOK 4 124 (MNOK 3 250) and had an EBITA of MNOK 351 (MNOK 195). New orders aggregated MNOK 8 279 (MNOK 3 396).

Offshore & Merchant Marine had Q2 operating revenues of MNOK 1 338 (MNOK 862) and an EBITA of MNOK 130 (84). New orders had a value of MNOK 2 330 (MNOK 1 068). This is first time the business area has booked new orders in excess of NOK 2 billion during a single quarter. The backlog of orders at 30 June 2007 came to MNOK 4 686 (MNOK 2 673). This is the 10th consecutive quarter of growth in Offshore & Merchant Marine's backlog of orders. "There has been an especially strong influx of new orders for offshore support vessels and hydroacoustics-based products. In April, we signed a contract with a shipyard in India for the delivery of advanced subsea systems valued at approx. MNOK 350; this is the largest contract KONGSBERG has ever booked in this area. The Merchant Marine market remained at a stable high level. We expect a continued strong influx of new orders from these markets," adds Korssjøen.

Defence & Aerospace reported Q2 operating revenue of MNOK 891 (MNOK 639) and an EBITA of MNOK 64 (MNOK 25). New orders aggregated MNOK 3 264 (MNOK 794), and the backlog ended at MNOK 6 252, i.e. twice as high as a year ago. In late June, KONGSBERG signed a production contract for the NSM with the Armed Forces' Logistics Organisation. Covering delivery of missiles to the Norwegian Navy's new frigates and missile torpedo boats, the contract represented new orders worth approx. NOK 2.5 billion. The business area has also concluded several other important contracts, including a contract worth approx. MNOK 110 with DCN of France for the delivery of bridge and navigation equipment to the new French FREMM Class frigates. "The strong influx of new orders for remote weapons systems is expected to continue and several new countries are expected to sign contracts. The business area had smooth operations during the quarter, resulting among other things in a rise in the operating margin compared with 2006," says Korssjøen.

"On the whole, we expect many more new orders and strong performance also during the latter half of 2007", concludes Chief Executive Officer Jan Erik Korssjøen.

For further information, please contact: Chief Executive Officer Jan Erik Korssjøen - telephone: ( 47) 322-89510 / ( 47) 920-60000 Chief Financial Officer Arne Solberg - telephone: ( 47) 322-89575/ ( 47) 920-60011