Tekla Corporation's Interim Report January 1 - March 31, 2009: Tekla's first quarter satisfactory considering the circumstances 

Tekla Corporation   Interim report   6.5.2009   at 9:00 a.m.

Tekla's first quarter satisfactory considering the circumstances

Net sales of Tekla Group for January-March 2009 totaled 12.19 (14.86) million euros, decreasing by approximately 18%. The operating result was 1.24 (3.93) million euros, 10.2% (26.5%) of net sales. Earnings per share were 0.05 (0.13) euros.

Ari Kohonen, President and CEO, comments on the reporting period:

- Net sales for the first quarter of 2009 fell considerably short of the corresponding quarter the previous year, which, on the other hand, was an outstanding quarter. The operating result also decreased clearly. The operating result accounted for only 10% of net sales, which can be considered satisfactory under these market conditions.

- Net sales decreased particularly in license sales in our main business area, Building & Construction, nearly halving compared to the corresponding quarter the previous year. However, a growth in maintenance sales was a positive thing. This indicates that customers are willing to pay for their key tools.

- License sales were not at a good level in any market area. The best results were achieved in the Middle East. With regard to individual countries, the trends were favorable in Germany and Saudi Arabia. The greatest absolute drop was seen in North America, where no signs of a revival of demand have been seen so far.

- The Infra & Energy business area performed well during the first quarter, and its net sales increased by approximately 25%. Successful maintenance sales and product projects contributed to this, for instance.

- The growth in the number of personnel (seven persons) was moderate during the first quarter. The additions were made in the customer interface. In the first quarter total costs were at the previous year's level.

- All in all, we are not satisfied with our financial performance during the quarter, but Tekla has the resources to survive the recession. The company will be in good shape when the economy begins to recover in time.

As regards the year as a whole, the Board estimates that net sales will be approximately 50 million euros. The operating result will be clearly lower in 2009 than in 2008. Costs and measures to ensure profitability are being continuously monitored.

Tekla will organize an information meeting (in Finnish) for analysts and media at WTC Helsinki (meeting room 1), on May 6, 2009, starting at noon.

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Tekla is an international software product company whose model-based software solutions make customers' core processes more effective in building and construction, energy distribution, infrastructure management and water supply. Tekla has customers in approximately 90 countries. Tekla Group's net sales for 2008 were nearly 60 million euros and operating result approximately 14 million euros. International operations account for approximately 80% of net sales. Tekla Group currently employs 470 persons, of whom 40 percent work outside Finland. Tekla was established in 1966, making it one of the longest operating software companies in Finland. www.tekla.com

 

* Net sales of Tekla Group for January-March 2009 were 12.19 million euros (14.86 million euros in January-March 2008).

* Net sales decreased by 18.0%.

* Operating result was 1.24 (3.93) million euros.

* Operating result percentage was 10.2 (26.5).

* Earnings per share were 0.05 (0.13) euros.

* Return on investment was 22.1 (58.6) percent.

* Return on equity was 14.9 (42.5) percent.

* Cash flow from operating activities totaled 8.12 (5.79) million euros.

* Liquid assets amounted to 28.42 (35.60; including dividend of 11.26 million euros) million euros on March 31, 2009. The assets have been invested in money market instruments with very low risk. On December 31, 2008, liquid assets amounted to 26.30 million euros.

* Equity ratio was 54.7 (42.7) percent.

* Interest-bearing debts were 0.12 (0.12) million euros.

* Net effects of changes in exchange rates on net sales and operating result were small.

* International operations accounted for 79.4% (84.7%) of net sales.

* Personnel averaged 459 (404) for January - March.

* At the end of March, the number of personnel including part-time staff was 471 (422).

* At year's end, the number of personnel including part-time staff was 464 (400).

* Gross investments in property, plant and equipment were 0.67 (0.27) million euros.

* Equity per share was 1.15 (1.02) euros.

* On the last trading day of March, trading closed at 3.79 (9.71) euros.

Tekla's Building & Construction business area (B&C) develops and markets the Tekla Structures software product for information-model-based design of steel and concrete structures as well as the management of fabrication and construction.

Strong fluctuations in demand are possible in license-based sales. Particularly from the fall onward, the development of the building industry has been negative in all of Tekla's key market areas. Uncertainty of financing has added to the problems, and this is particularly seen in new larger projects. The general economic situation affects customers' investments, making their decision-making times longer and postponing the start-up of projects into the future. The market has decreased even more than predicted. It seems that pent-up demand is piling up in the market, but there have not been any signs of a revival yet.

Despite the building industry's challenging situation, Tekla's market position remained unchanged. Tekla's position as a supplier of 3D modeling software is strong in all markets and the numbers of users are on the increase. Customers in the building industry are seeking tools that make their operations more efficient, which is what Tekla's products are. Information modeling is strengthening its foothold in structural design and other stages of the building process. The benefits of information modeling are seen more clearly in site management in particular.

Instead of large one-off sales, software is now purchased in smaller batches. However, many of these purchases are strategic with customers preparing for the information-model-based way of working.

It is very favorable for Tekla that the building industry's move to information-model-based 3D processes from traditional 2D ways of working continues.  Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a trend that is gaining momentum in the industry. BIM means that the information of the product model is transferred and shared between the parties of the construction process.

The net sales of B&C amounted to 8.88 (12.21) million euros for January-March 2009. Net sales decreased by approximately 27% compared to the corresponding quarter the previous year. Operating result was 0.92 (4.10) million euros. B&C's operating result percentage for the reporting period was 10.4% (33.6%). B&C's license sales nearly halved compared to the corresponding quarter the previous year. However, a growth in maintenance sales was a positive thing. This indicates that customers are willing to pay for their key tools.

International operations accounted for 96% (96%) of B&C's net sales in January-March 2009. License sales were not at a good level in any market area. The best results were achieved in the Middle East. With regard to individual countries, the trends were favorable in Germany and Saudi Arabia. The greatest absolute drop was seen in North America, where no signs of a revival of demand have been seen so far.

In February, Tekla opened an office in Jakarta, Indonesia, for B&C's customer support functions.

Tekla and Fisher Engineering signed a frame agreement to replace all of Fisher's current structural design and detailing software licenses with Tekla Structures licenses. The plan is to implement the agreement over a two-year period. UK-based Fisher Engineering is one of Europe's leading constructional steel fabricators.

Tekla and HGG from the Netherlands signed an agreement on continued cooperation.   The aim is to develop a standardized software solution for the steel tube industry to automatically produce the required control data for CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machinery in an open format. The solution covers all 3D tubular structures from design and detailing to automatic fabrication. These are widely used e.g. in the off-shore industry.

The annual main version of Tekla Structures was released at the end of March. Tekla Structures 15 features improved usability of the product, support for collaboration between different parties in the planning process and increased efficiency of the tools required in planning tasks.

The Infra & Energy business area focuses on the development and sales of model-based software solutions that support customers' core processes. Its key customer industries (products in parentheses) are energy distribution (Tekla Xpower), public administration (Tekla Xcity), as well as civil engineering and water (Tekla Xstreet and Tekla Xpipe).

In the energy industry, information system acquisitions are strategic investments for the companies. The economic recession has not had much effect on these investments. Tekla's market position as a supplier of network information systems is strong in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

In public administration, the economic crunch has decreased income and funds available for investments. However, information systems provide additional productivity, efficiency and self-service and therefore cost-savings. Decreased financial resources have slowed down the development of the municipal sector, and investments are subject to increasing scrutiny. Tekla's sales and market position remained strong in Finland.

The net sales of I&E amounted to 3.33 (2.67) million euros for January-March 2009. The business area performed well during the first quarter, and its net sales increased by approximately 25%. Successful maintenance sales and product projects contributed to this, for instance. I&E's operating result was 0.32 (-0.05) million euros. International operations accounted for 36% (33%) of net sales. I&E's operating result percentage was 9.6% (-1.9%).

An implementation project to adopt Tekla Xpower to production use throughout the Berlin distribution area was launched with Vattenfall Europe Berlin in Germany at the beginning of 2009. Vattenfall aims to put the system to production use at the end of January 2010. The deal is a significant step for Tekla in the German market. During the reporting period, Tekla Xcity was implemented throughout the recently expanded City of Kouvola (Finland).

In product development, development of Tekla Xpower's contractor support for energy companies' planning and building processes was continued with Vattenfall Sähköverkko Oy (Finland). The integration project of Oü Jaotusvörk (Estonia) proceeded to implementation. A new application was developed for Tekla Xcity to expand municipal E-services. The project involves several significant Finnish cities.

The Group personnel averaged 459 (404) in January-March 2009; on average 189 (162) worked outside Finland. In these figures, the number of part-time staff has been converted to correspond to full-time work contribution. At the beginning of the year, Tekla personnel totaled 464 (400) including part-time staff, of whom 189 (158) worked outside Finland, and at the end of March 471 (422), of whom 193 (166) worked outside Finland.

The growth in the number of personnel (seven persons) was moderate during the first quarter. The additions were made in the customer interface. The majority of personnel in Finland will change their 2009 holiday pays for time off.

The total number of Tekla Corporation shares at the end of March 2009 was 22,586,200, of which the company owned 169,600. The total book counter value of those was 5,088 euros, representing 0.75% of the company's shares and the total number of votes. A total of 898,212.35 euros had been used for acquiring the company's own shares, and their market value was 642,784 euros on March 31, 2009. The book counter value of the share is 0.03 euros. At the end of the period, share capital stood at 677,586 euros.

The highest quotation of the share in January-March 2009 was 4.80 (13.00) euros, the lowest 3.40 (9.30) euros. The average quotation was 3.82 (10.79) euros. On the last trading day of March, trading closed at 3.79 (9.71) euros.

A total of 801,503 (3,033,293) Tekla shares changed hands in January-March 2009 at NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd, amounting to 3.5% (13.4%) of the entire share capital.

Nominee registered and foreign owners held 25.02% (24.38%) of all shares at the end of March 2009.

Tekla Corporation's Annual General Meeting on March 18, 2009 adopted Tekla Corporation's financial statements and consolidated financial statements for 2008. The Annual General Meeting also discharged the CEO and the Board members from liability. The AGM accepted the Board's proposal whereby a dividend of 0.25 euros per share was distributed for 2008 (total 5,604,150 euros). The dividend payment date was March 30, 2009.

Ari Kohonen, Olli-Pekka Laine (Vice Chair), Heikki Marttinen (Chair), Erkki Pehu-Lehtonen and Reijo Sulonen were re-elected Board members until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting in 2010. Timo Keinänen was re-elected deputy member of the Board. Juha Kajanen will continue as the Tekla personnel representative on the Board with Kirsi Hakkila as his personal deputy.

The AGM authorized the Board to increase the company's share capital and acquire or transfer the company's treasury shares. The above-mentioned authorizations are valid until the next Annual General Meeting, however not later than April 30, 2010.

Possible risks and uncertainty factors associated with Tekla's business are mainly related to the market and competitive situation and the general economic situation. Trends in the building industry have weakened in certain markets, and it has had a negative impact on the demand for Tekla products.

A majority of Tekla's net sales comprises of sales of licenses entitling to use software products. Fluctuation in their demand can be rapid and significant. In the short term and with rapidly decreasing demand, it is challenging to proportion fixed personnel expenses, which account for the majority of Tekla's costs. Tekla is, however, able to react swiftly to growing demand, and profits from additional sales are good.

The sales of Tekla software are geographically distributed. Also individual customers do not account for a significant share of net sales, and therefore these risks are not significant.

At the beginning of April, Tekla purchased the business operations of 3-Design LLC, a small producer of general engineering software. The company mainly operates in the UK market.

In April, Tekla and Rautaruukki signed a strategic cooperation agreement on the use of modeling software. Tekla Structures BIM (Building Information Modeling) software will be used for structural steel design in almost all countries in which Rautaruukki's construction division has a presence.

As regards the year as a whole, the Board estimates that net sales will be approximately 50 million euros. The operating result will be clearly lower in 2009 than in 2008. Costs and measures to ensure profitability are being continuously monitored.

Tekla Corporation's Interim Report for January-June 2009 will be published on Friday, August 7, 2009.

Espoo, May 5, 2009

TEKLA CORPORATION

Board of Directors

For additional information, please contact:

Ari Kohonen, President and CEO, Tel. +358 50 641 24, ari.kohonen (at) tekla.com

Timo Keinänen, CFO, Tel. +358 400 813 027, timo.keinanen (at) tekla.com

Distribution:   NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd, main media

Management herein refers to members of the Tekla Management Team.