RoHS held back Electrolux European sales

The sales of vacuum cleaners in North America and Europe improved as well as the sales of white goods in Latin America and North America. However the sales in Europe declined and according to Electrolux that depended on the implementation of the RoHS directive which came into effect on July 1. "According to plan we improved our results compared to last year, but I am not satisfied with the result development in Europe. The strike in Nuremberg, Germany, caused more of a setback in sales than we had anticipated during the first half. We are now in the process of winning back the lost market share, but this work takes time. One result of the strike is that we will discontinue production in Nuremberg nearly one year sooner than we planned, namely in the first quarter of 2007. The implementation of the European Union's RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive also had a negative effect on the result, through selling off products before the directive became effective on July 1", Electrolux CEO Hans Stråberg commented. "I expect the results for 2006 to reach our previously released expectations, which means that operating results for Electrolux Indoor products, excluding items affecting comparability, are expected to be somewhat higher than 2005", Stråberg added.