Quarterly report first quarter 2005

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The Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende (NHST) Goup’s pre-tax profit in the first quarter amounted to MNOK 8.4 as against MNOK 7.8 in the equivalent period last year. The operating profit improved by 3% to MNOK 7.3. The profit improvement is the twelfth consecutive improvement since the summer of 2002. The marginal improvement this quarter may be seen in the context of the monthly shift on account of Easter. For the internationally oriented companies TradeWinds, Upstream and Intrafish the considerably weakened USD compared to 12 months ago was partly instrumental in limiting a fundamentally good development. We would like to notify readers, however, that dn.no ran at a profit in the first quarter (for the first time).

The turnover increased by 6% to MNOK 172.2. Nautisk Forlag, TradeWinds and dn.no are the main contributors in that respect. However, all the companies obtained a growth in turnover, although it was somewhat weaker than was expected. The month of January was surprisingly weak. Particularly considering the very good ending last year. The month of March, however, was very good, and the order books look good for the coming months. Circulation trends are generally good, and most of the publications are in the process of setting circulation records.

This report has been compiled according to NGAAP – as in previous periods. NHST will consider changing to IFRS in the course of the year.

Publication by publication:

Dagens Næringsliv’s (DN’s) profit decreased somewhat, from MNOK 12.4 to MNOK 9.1, this year. The decline in the operating profit was due to the stepping up of editorial and marketing activities. We believe this to have produced a better newspaper and a basis for a good corporate development in the coming quarters.. The MBL readership for the last twelve months showed that DN’s working day readership had a limited decline of around 1.5%. This is within the normal statistical variations, but the figures indicate a slight fall-off of younger circulation readers of the newspaper. This is where the newspaper is vulnerable and has to do with the fact that the lifetime of the news is shortened among other things by the increasing impact [?] of the internet. The number of newspapers sold (the circulation) continues to rise. Particularly casual sales. Most of the major Norwegian newspapers report a decline in circulation and readership. New, long-term agreements for newspaper deliveries have been entered into with SAS Braathens for their international flights, and with several hotel chains such as SAS and Rica in Norway. DN’s results are expected to be better than last year’s in the coming quarters.

DN Nye Medier for the first time had a surplus in the first quarter. The operating profit was MNOK 0.6 as against a loss of MNOK 1,2 last year. Turnover increased by 37 % to MNOK 7.1. Turnover and traffic trends are in line with other internet developments. There is a clear increase in the use of dn.no at weekends. Moreover, there is a growth in traffic of approximately 40% in all the market segments. Editorially, dn.no has been independent since 2000 and has partly been considerably differentiated from DN. This has meant that the dispute that has been apparent between the newspapers and the internet for several major publications like VG and Dagbladet has so far not hit NHST. The upswing is expected to continue for dn.no in the coming quarters. Several new marketing initiatives are in the pipeline this spring in the form of a new mobile phone launch.

TradeWinds’ profit dropped by 10 % to MNOK 0.7. The decline was caused by the weakened USD exchange rates. Circulation reached an all-time high at more than 7,500, and in 2004 the distance to the biggest competitor in terms of fully paid-up circulations was satisfactory and is expected to increase in the coming quarter. Turnover increased by 14 % to MNOK 19.2. The most important reason for the increase in turnover was the successful shipping conference in Shanghai, which produced a turnover of MNOK 3.8, a high operating margin, plus the fact that it was the biggest shipping conference in Asia for several decades. The conference mentioned TradeWinds in positive terms and TradeWinds will therefore be present at the conference in 2006 as well. The next shipping conference will take place in Oslo on 7th June. The coming quarters are expected to produce profit improvements.

Upstream had a growth in revenues of 6 %, to MNOK 11.7. This is due to the improved circulation, and at the end of the quarter the circulation reached an all-time high of more than 5.800. The improvements this year primarily come from the US and Singapore/Far East. The number of incoming advertisements is satisfactory. The operating deficit was almost halved to MNOK -0.6. The second quarter is traditionally Upstream’s best due to the large oil conference in Houston (OTC).

Intrafish Media grew by 2 % in turnover to MNOK 10.0. The operating loss improved by 3 % to MNOK -1.8. This is somewhat weaker than was expected and was due to the newspaper Fiskaren’s drop in turnover of advertisements so far this year. This is offset to a certain extent by the English language newspaper Intrafish having seen a considerable growth in its advertisements. There is a satisfactory number of advertisements coming in, and circulation grew both for Fiskaren and Intrafish. The situation will be followed carefully in order to reach strategic profitability targets.

Nautisk Forlag did well in the first quarter. The operating result improved by 44 % to MNOK 2.7. Turnover grew by 24 % to MNOK 21.3. The improvement was due to increased sales of maps for the global shipping fleet and increased shop sales from the Oslo office. In order to strengthen market activities Nautisk also set up a sales office in Singapore in the quarter, as well as other NHST activities. [?] Continued progress is expected, albeit at a somewhat more modest level, in the coming quarters.

TDN Nyhetsbyrå experienced growth – for the first time in three years – in both turnover and operating profit/loss. The improvement was marginal both on the top and bottom lines. Turnover reached MNOK 2.4 and the operating profit was MNOK 0.1. This confirms an underlying trend with a greater demand for TDN’s products. A moderate further growth is expected.

Europower also saw some improvements on the top and bottom lines. Turnover reached MNOK 1.7, and there was an operating loss of MNOK 0.5. One important incident during the period was the successful acquisition of Energi Forlag. The acquisition has been well received by the industry and is expected to contribute to a good development for Europower in the coming quarters.

Conclusion:

On average the results for the first quarter were somewhat better than was expected despite the fact that turnover was somewhat lower than expected. The second quarter is traditionally the best quarter of the year. The number of orders coming in for April is good, and the situation in the markets both in Norway and for shipping, oil and seafood is good. Through good editorial performances, pro-active marketing and sensible operations the situation should be right for further progress to be made.

Oslo, 26 April 2005

The Board of Directors

AS Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende