Orell Füssli Group: Full year results 2006 - Record Year for Orell Füssli

Solid increase of turnover and profit turnaround new CEO

The turnover of the Orell Füssli Group showed an increase of roughly 4% to CHF 352 million. Compared to the previous year EBIT increased by 38% to CHF 39.3 million and the net income 80% to CHF 26.8 million. Turnover and net income represent record figures in the history of the Orell Füssli Group. The profit figures are not only significantly higher than previous year s figures, which had been burdened by special factors, but also comfortably on top of 2004 figures.

Security printing and industrial systems produced sales and profits corresponding to the high expectations, since the negative factors burdening 2005 have been cleared. While turnover increase was moderate, profit figures have improved to the traditional high ratios.

Book retailing was again confronted with price erosions but produced a slightly higher turnover than in the previous year. Book publishing witnessed an excellent year while business information increased volume and retained the already high profit margin.

The prospects for the future are good in all business areas. For the current year Orell Füssli expects a consolidation on a high level.

Sönke Bandixen new CEO

Sönke Bandixen, Swiss national, will become responsible Group CEO as of July 2007. Klaus Oesch, current CEO, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors depending on his election as Board Member at the AGM of 9th May, 2007. Sönke Bandixen, born 1957, Master of mechanical engineering Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is an independent consultant since 2004. Before 2004 he was a member of the Executive Board of the Kaba group and head of the Kaba division door systems (turnover CHF 250 million, 1200 employees). Prior Mr. Bandixen was a member of the management of Hagemeyer-Cosa Liebermann, a service and trade company specialised in the marketing of industrial goods and systems to the Far East. Until 1993 he held several management positions at SIG Packaging Technology. Mr. Bandixen has earned a management degree at the Harvard Business School.

Detailed information will be provided at the media conference on April 12th, 2007, when the Annual Report will be published. The General Assembly will take place on May 9th, 2007.

The following figures correspond to the provisional report, which is not yet audited. The figures are based on IFRS standard.

As a strategic and financial holding, the traditional company of Orell Füssli combines the three independent business segments of security printing and industrial systems , book retailing and publishing . The group has sales of CHF 350 million and employs around 1000 members of staff. Both in terms of technology and quality, the Orell Füssli is a leader in the security printing sector, in the development and manufacture of systems for security documents and for the individualisation of products and documents. Orell Füssli holds a leading position in German-speaking Switzerland in the Book retailing sector, with 13 wholesale and specialist retail outlets and an Internet bookshop (www.books.ch). In Publishing Orell Füssli is not only a specialist book publisher but runs also extensive on-line databases containing company and personal information relating to the Swiss economy (www.teledata.ch, www.kompass.ch).

Information:
Dr. Klaus Oesch
CEO
Phone +41 (0)44 466 72 73
Email investor-relations[at]ofgb.ch