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Year of renewal

2007 was another year of steady progress for Vaisala. Group net sales grew by 1.5% compared to 2006. However, the result was somewhat below our expectations. This was due to some postponed deliveries, which we will cash in early 2008, weakened USD and the internal development projects intiated to support growth. At constant currencies, Vaisala's sales would have been up 5.8% year on year.

Compared to the previous year, net sales grew most in Asia-Pacific (15.2%) and Europe but decreased in other regions. In North America, one of Vaisala's main markets, the decrease of 7.4% was mostly due to the weakened USD. At constant currency, sales in North America would have grown by 1.3%.

We were able to improve our efficiency by outsourcing parts of the wind profiler and thunderstorm detection activities, optimizing our sourcing and utilizing common platforms in research and development.

Strong market position

We were able to maintain our strong market position and hence there were no changes in Vaisala's market shares. The best performing businesses were Vaisala Instruments and Vaisala Solutions, whereas Vaisala Measurement Systems fell below targets.

Highlights of the year include the launch and first orders of the Vaisala weather radar. The radar complements our remote sensing product offering. It was developed in cooperation with leading international research institutions and partners and it enables more precise information on the quantity and quality of precipitation due to its dual-polarization technology.

Going forward with a new strategy

Internally, year 2007 was marked by renewal in Vaisala. We defined a new vision, mission and strategy for the company. The new strategy can be characterized by one word: growth. We aim to grow both organically and through selected acquisitions. Just as importantly, we will tune ourselves even more closely with our customers: the customer view will be built into every aspect of our business, from comprehensive services and solutions to industrial measurement.

Starting in 2008, Vaisala will be organized around four business areas: Vaisala Services, Solutions, Measurement Systems and Instruments. We want to be at the forefront and drive the global development of the environmental measurement industry for the benefit of our customers.

Market outlook

Going forward, Vaisala expects that its sales and profit in 2008 will remain flat or improve slightly. The world economy and development of currency rates are anticipated to have an impact on Vaisala also next year.

The ongoing active discussion all around the world about global warming and climate change has brought the measurement of the environmental phenomena today into a sharper focus than ever before. I believe that Vaisala, as the global leader in this field, is in a key position to provide observations for a better world.

Thank you

A warm thank you to all Vaisala personnel for your hard work and commitment to our common goals. I would also like to thank our customers and partners for your trust in Vaisala - we constantly strive to improve our capabilities to cater for your needs even better.