The board of management is positive about the growth of turnover. Therefore, it maintains its forecast of realizing 10% to 20% growth of its core activities compared to 2006, based on the normal seasonal pattern. The investments made in 2007 are now contributing well to growth of turnover.

As in 2006, the business units Qualification and Failure & Technology Analysis grew exponentially compared to the first half of 2006. Qualification more than doubled its turnover (+259%), while Failure & Technology Analysis showed a near doubling of turnover (+93%).

Due to the ongoing shortage of test engineers, in the second quarter turnover in Test Engineering lagged behind, in contrast to the first quarter. As a result, turnover in the first half year was 11% lower than in the first half of last year. Test & Related services showed a limited increase (+6%). Rood is constantly looking for opportunities to increase its engineering capacity.

In the first half, Rood Technology has started testing in Dresden and as a result has realized a very limited turnover. The company has been assessed positively by its customer, as a result of which production will increase further in the next period. Dresden is expected to realize approximately 5% of Rood's annual turnover in the second half of 2007, with further upward potential.

The activities in support of the supply chain from Asia (China) to Europe are showing promising developments. In this context, much effort is going into setting up collaborations, including partnerships with both customers and suppliers. This supply chain continues to hold good promises for contributing significantly to future turnover.