Acquisitions and new orders<br>pave the way for PartnerTech

Net revenue rose to SEK 2,013.9 million (1,737.6). The operating profit amounted to SEK 88.1 million (73.5). The profit after tax was SEK 53.2 million (43.8). Producers are increasingly turning to contract manufacturers like PartnerTech. The services required are often limited to production itself. The services required are often limited to production itself. Demand has grown in recent years for contract manufacturers to assume greater responsibility throughout a product's life cycle, including development, new product introduction and cost-effective design. Customers range from large engineering companies to small product development businesses. The focus is largely on lower costs, reduced capital tied up and shorter time from product concept to market launch. The contract manufacturing sector is in a rapid state of flux. The trend is for contract manufacturers to carve out a niche in various technical or customer segments and to specialize in industrial or consumer products. A number of large contract manufacturers have decided in recent years to concentrate on very large-scale production of consumer products as well as IT and telecom services. As a result, they have divested their industrial units. The contract manufacturing sector has split up into two segments. The first segment, usually consisting of large Asian or U.S. contract manufacturers, is wholly oriented toward large-scale production for consumer-related products. The second segment is made up of small and medium-sized contract manufacturers that focus on the engineering, medical technology and other OEM sectors. PartnerTech holds a strong position in the second segment and is among the top European leaders in the industrial products area. Its technical expertise comprises electronics, mechanics and mechatronics. PartnerTech's ability to handle large, complex projects, along with its mechatronics expertise, lends it unique assets as a prospective ally for highly extensive and multifaceted integrated assignments. Those are the kinds of projects for which PartnerTech has encountered new and growing demand and that accounted for its biggest orders and agreements in 2005. The ever expanding service offering that customers in a number of geographic markets are looking for has served as a catalyst for PartnerTech's growth. Furthermore, competitive conditions are relatively favorable. Few other contract manufacturers can offer an equally wide range of services in combination with far-reaching international scope. Generally speaking, underlying demand by the customer segments in which PartnerTech operates remained relatively stable during the year.