Vacon - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Vacon Plc Interim Report 1 January - 31 March 2011

Vacon Plc, Stock Exchange Release, 27 April 2011 at 9.30 am

In this stock exchange release Vacon is publishing information included in the
interim report that has a significant impact on the value of securities. The
full interim report is in the appendix to this release and can be downloaded
from the company's website in Finnish at www.vacon.fi and in English at
www.vacon.com.

January-March summary:
  * Order intake totalled MEUR 100.7, an increase of 38.4 % from the
    corresponding period in the previous year (MEUR 72.8).
  * Revenues totalled MEUR 95.0, growth of 45.5 % (MEUR 65.3).
  * Operating profit was MEUR 8.9, or 9.3 % of revenues, an increase of 91.0 %
    (MEUR 4.6 and 7.0 %).
  * Operating cash flow was MEUR -6.4 (MEUR 1.9).
  * Earnings per share were EUR 0.35 (0.17), growth of 106.0 %.
  * Vacon Plc has agreed to sell The Switch Engineering Oy shares. The selling
    of the shares is expected to raise Vacon Plc's earnings per share by an
    estimated EUR 1.4 in 2011. The transaction requires the approval of
    competition authorities and, deviating from what was announced earlier, it
    is estimated that the sale will be completed in the third quarter.


January-March result

+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|MEUR                            |1-3/2011|1-3/2010|Change, %|1-12/2010|
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Revenues                        |95.0    |65.3    |45.5     |338.0    |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|EBITDA                          |11.7    |7.3     |60.1     |39.7     |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Depreciation - tangibles        |-1.2    |-1.2    |0.8      |-5.0     |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Amortization - intangibles      |-1,6    |-1.5    |-10.9    |-6.1     |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Operating profit                |8.9     |4.6     |91.0     |28.6     |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Operating profit - percentage of|9.3     |7.0     |         |8.5      |
|revenues                        |        |        |         |         |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Profit before tax               |8.5     |4.4     |94.1     |27.5     |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Profit for the period           |5.6     |2.8     |101.3    |19.1     |
+--------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+


General review

Demand for AC drives remained strong in the first quarter of 2011 and Vacon
raised its market share in all geographical regions. Vacon's revenues increased
45.5 %, to EUR 95.0 million (EUR 65.3 million). Demand for AC drives rose in all
industrial sectors. The company's profitability also improved encouragingly.
Operating profit rose to EUR 8.9 million, or 9.3 % of revenues (EUR 4.6 million
and 7.0 %).

The shortage of components that delayed deliveries in 2010 eased in the first
quarter of the year and reduced the delivery times for Vacon's products. The
devastating tsunami in Japan did not have an impact on the company's operations
during the review period.

Vacon Plc and the other shareholders in The Switch Engineering Oy signed an
agreement on 14 March 2011 with the American Superconductor Corporation,
transferring all the shares in The Switch Engineering to American Superconductor
Corporation. The transaction requires the approval of competition authorities
and, deviating from what was announced earlier, it is estimated that the sale
will be completed in the third quarter. The capital gains from selling The
Switch shares are expected to raise Vacon Plc's earnings per share by an
estimated EUR 1.4 in 2011.

Vacon estimates that the AC drive market will grow 6-10 % in 2011. Investments
to improve energy efficiency and in renewable energy production will support
strong growth in all market areas. Market growth is expected to be strongest in
the Asia Pacific region. Steady growth is also forecast for EMEA and North
America. Demand for Vacon's products is expected to rise in all industrial
sectors. The financial problems experienced in certain European countries cause
uncertainty about economic growth in the euro area. The impact of the
devastating tsunami in Japan may also weaken the availability of electronic
components for Vacon's business operation in 2011.

Market guidelines for 2011

Vacon estimates that its 2011 revenues will increase 10 % - 20 % and the
operating profit margin is expected to rise from 2010. Earnings per share are
expected to improve considerably from 2010.

Financial reports in 2011

Vacon is publishing two further interim reports in 2011 as follows:
  * January-June: 3 August 2011
  * January-September: 25 October 2011


Formal statement

This release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the
current views of the company's management. Due to the nature of these
statements, they contain risks and uncertainties and are subject to changes in
the general economic situation and in the company's business sector.

Vacon in brief

Vacon's operations are driven by a passion to develop, manufacture and sell the
best AC drives in the world - and nothing else. AC drives are used to control
electric motors and in renewable energy generation. Vacon has R&D and production
units in Finland, the USA, China and Italy, and sales offices in 27 countries.
In 2010 Vacon had revenues of EUR 338.0 million and globally employed 1300
people. The shares of Vacon Plc (VAC1V) are quoted on the main list of the
Helsinki stock exchange. Driven by Drives, www.vacon.fi

Vantaa, 27 March 2011

VACON PLC
Board of Directors

For more information please contact:

Mr Vesa Laisi, President and CEO, phone: +358 (0)40 8371 510
Ms Eriikka Söderström, CFO and Vice President, Finance & Control, phone: +358
(0)40 8371 445

Conference for media and analysts

Vacon will hold a briefing for analysts and the media at 11.30 am on 27 April
2011 at the Scandic Simonkenttä Hotel, Simonkatu 9, 00100 Helsinki. The briefing
will be in Finnish.

Dial-in conference for investors and investment analysts

A dial-in conference in English for investors and investment analysts will be
held at 3.00 pm (EET) on 27 April 2011. President and CEO Vesa Laisi and Eriikka
Söderström, CFO and Vice President, Finance and Control, will participate in the
conference. Please call +44 (0)20 7136 2053 and request to be connected to the
Vacon call (Confirmation code 6742315). A recording of the conference will be
available for seven days at +44 (0)20 7111 1244 and access code 6742315#.

  * Webcast URL: http://www.media-server.com/m/em/xcdd6e9s/r/1


[HUG#1509325]

Attachments:

Vacon Interim Report January - March 2011.pdf

Vacon Presentation.pdf