Excluding these effects, operating margin was 38% (16).

Cash flow for the quarter was also strong at SEK 60.0m (16.4).

The annualized contract value at the end of Q3 2009 was SEK 628.0m (562.5), up by SEK 65.5m, or 12%, compared to Q3 2008. On a fixed exchange rate basis, the increase was SEK 33.3m, or 6%.

July - September 2009
• Operating revenue of SEK 180.7m (142.0)
• Revenue growth of 27%
• Operating income of SEK 54.6m (36.0)
• Operating margin of 30% (25)
• Income after tax of SEK 36.4m (27.8)
• Basic earnings per share of SEK 2.40 (1.83)

January - September 2009
• Operating revenue of SEK 524.5m (417.3)
• Revenue growth of 26%
• Operating income of SEK 146.6m (84.3)
• Operating margin of 28% (20)
• Income after tax of SEK 103.7m (60.7)
• Basic earnings per share of SEK 6.82 (3.99)

CEO Thomas Bill comments: "We are highly satisfied with the quarter's revenue growth of 27% and operating margin of 30%, despite exchange losses of SEK 15m. However, contract cancellations were higher than earlier in the year and weakening of the US dollar and euro had a negative impact on our key performance metric - annualized contract value, ACV. Internally, we are planning for continued high cancellations in the next few quarters but are confident that it will decrease over time, although it is difficult to say when. The best way to offset contract reductions is by focusing on continued strong sales and an efficient organization that generates good margins.

Sales in Q3 were generally good. Of the regions, Asia Pacific delivered the most impressive results and showed a substantial increase in ACV before foreign exchange effects. The Americas and Europe, on the other hand, were subject to unusually large contract cancellations, from banks as well as trading firms. On the whole, the Group's balanced development once again demonstrates the advantages of being a global company.

Trends in automated trading remain one of the main drivers behind demand for our solutions. In addition, the importance of our connectivity offering has become even more apparent, as illustrated not least by the orders booked in the Asia Pacific region. Added to this are the challenges facing players in Europe with regard to replacement and upgrading of market connections.

With one quarter left of 2009, we are convinced that Orc will achieve an increase in both revenue and income compared to 2008. However, if the current exchange rates persist, it will probably not be possible to improve our ACV at the end of 2009 compared to 2008. On a fixed exchange rate basis, we expect our ACV at year-end 2009 to be higher than at the end of 2008.