Lappset Group Ltd believes in growth

March 2012

With a solid financial foundation, Lappset Group Ltd. performed reasonably well in 2011 despite the challenging global economy. The Group recorded a turnover of EUR 46.5 million and declared a profit of EUR 1.1 million. Cash flow and liquidity were excellent. In 2011, the equity ratio increased to 65.8%, an increase of 7.9 percentage points on the previous year. At the end of the financial year on 31 December 2011, the consolidated balance sheet total was EUR 20.5 million.

The doldrums of the world economy reflected on the Group’s sales particularly in Spain and the UK, but in Finland Lappset once again increased its market share year-on-year, and domestic sales grew robustly. Subsidiaries reported a good performance as in earlier years, particularly in Sweden.

The Lappset Group made substantial investments in growth in 2011. Two individual investments in particular are significant for the future. Firstly, Lappset acquired a majority holding in its long-standing reseller partner in the Netherlands, which became the seventh subsidiary to be added to the Group. The transaction was finalised at the beginning of 2012. The Netherlands subsidiary is a centre of excellence for interactive play solutions.

The other major investment decision in 2011 involved building a company-owned factory in Estonia to manufacture metal components and series of metal products. This facility is located near Tallinn and is well on the way to starting up, being scheduled to be inaugurated this spring. Production will begin early in the summer.

Earlier, Lappset’s French subsidiary Lappset Citec SAS opened up for business at the beginning of 2011.

Lappset is confident about the future, having recently enlarged its product range from playground equipment to products for the wellbeing of teenagers, adults and senior citizens. In 2011, Lappset also signed a partnership agreement with Rovio to plan and build Angry Birds themed activity parks around the world, which will add to the growth of the Group’s operations in the current year.