Year 2006 was an extremely good year for Vaisala. Our net sales grew 12% to EUR 220.8 million. Organic growth was complimented by the business acquisition of weather radar signal processor and application software manufacturer Sigmet. The year was positive for all our businesses, particularly industrial instruments and surface weather observation networks.
Operating profit grew 32%, and we are very pleased with this result. Positive development could also be witnessed in the increase of Vaisala's stock value and intensified exchange.
Net sales grew significantly in all our three divisions. Active demand and growth in the number of orders received were reflected throughout the Group.
Sigmet's year was better than expected, and behind Vaisala Measurement Systems division's positive result. The outsourcing of the radiosonde assembly was a great structural change, which caused some one-off costs. Annual cost-savings of approximately 1.5 million euros are sought from the outsourcing deal, starting from 2007.
Vaisala Instruments division's sales grew particularly in the United States and China. The division's operating profit grew nearly 40%. This was achieved through improvements in the order-delivery process. The new oxygen measurement product is expected to be the next big hit in industrial measurement.
Vaisala Solutions concentrates on customer-specific application know-how and tailored solution offering. Year 2006 demonstrated that focus is producing the desired results; the demand for comprehensive solutions remained on a good level, and the number of orders received grew more than expected. Particularly the sales of surface weather observation networks were strong.
Most of our sales are rather evenly distributed between North America (36 %), Europe (34 %) and Asia-Pacific (24 %). The fourth region, comprising Africa and South and Central America, covers 6% of our sales.
Year 2006 did not bring significant changes to this situation, and growth remained strong in all regions. The greatest growth was witnessed in Asia-Pacific, where growth was 15%. We are also happy with the sales results in North America because, regardless of the weakened dollar, growth was 12%. An interesting observation is that the growth in sales per division took place in different regions: Vaisala Measurement Systems in Africa and South and Central America, while Vaisala Instruments in North America and China, and Vaisala Solutions in Europe.
Our office network covers the important market areas well. During the review period, we invested in China by opening an office in Shenzhen. We also decided to open a representative office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The office will start operations in 2007.
Our customers represent very different groups. Vaisala products are used by many professionals ranging from professional meteorology to engineers working in industrial environments, to ski center entrepreneurs. In order to better serve them all, we re-organized our sales organization based on customer segments in the beginning of 2006. We divided our customers into six weather and one industrial segment, and each of these is catered for by a dedicated sales team.
We expect market development to continue positive also in 2007. Our main efforts will be on maintaining our strong market position, as well as on our growth areas such as industrial measurements, new weather radar, and services. Our product development efforts will also remain on a high level, approximately around EUR 20 million, because leading technology and star products are an absolute prerequisite for our success. 
I started as Vaisala CEO on October 1, 2006. The first few months have already shown that I am at the helm of a world-class company and personnel whose innovativeness and commitment have enabled Vaisala to reach its significant position in the demanding field of environmental measurement. Last year is proof of the fact that everyone has once again given their very best. A warm thanks to all Vaisala personnel.
I also wish to express my thanks to my predecessor Pekka Ketonen. During the past 15 years in his leadership, Vaisala has grown and reached its leading position. This is a good starting point for me. I am convinced that our success will continue also in the future.
Kjell Forsén
