The profitability of the underlying business improved from the first quarter of 2007. Operating profit excluding one-off items rose by 15% and amounted to EUR 37.6 (32.8) million. One-off items were mainly attributable to the Performance Improvement Programme the company announced in October 2007.

The Performance Improvement Programme has progressed well. The actions taken by the end of March amount to annualized savings of EUR 36 million. Approximately two thirds of this amount is generated by utilization improvements. A major part of the positive impact will start to materialize in the second half of 2008 and in 2009.

The actions related to the Performance Improvement Programme are expected to improve TietoEnator's profitability significantly. TietoEnator estimates that the plan will generate annual cost savings of more than EUR 100 million as from the end of 2009.

In the first quarter, strongest development was seen in Processing & Network business area. The business area's net sales grew organically by 17% in the quarter thanks to the good market situation and a large contract TietoEnator concluded in 2007.

Profit before taxes totalled EUR 21.7 (32.4) million and earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.23 (0.33) in the first quarter.

TietoEnator's President and CEO Hannu Syrjälä comments on the first-quarter performance: "We have seen good development in our profitability and turned the eroding trend in margin. We still have to keep working hard on the Performance Improvement Programme as well as detailing and implementing our strategy until we have turned the company's direction and reached the targets we have set. I strongly believe that through this programme and the strategy TietoEnator will be able to restore its good profitability."

TietoEnator expects the IT market to remain active. The company expects its full-year revenue growth to follow the overall development in the relevant market. A major part of the actions related to TietoEnator's Performance Improvement Programme will take place during 2008. The costs related to these actions will impact TietoEnator's profitability during 2008.

TietoEnator is pursuing the full turnaround of the company by the end of 2009. The revised strategy, the Performance Improvement Programme and the actions taken so far will have a positive impact on the company's profitability in the future.