IN FOCUS

The ABS Interim Report January – September 2002: Invoiced sales amounted to 239 MEUR (215), which adjusted for the effects of exchange rate movements is a rise of 11 percent.

Selwood Group Limited, a leading plant and pump hire and sales company in UK, has reverted to full (100%) management ownership having completed a corporate finance transaction with 3i plc whose share capital and other interests in the company have been repurchased.

Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG, a leading manufacturer of high-quality vacuum pumps, components, and complete vacuum systems, announces its results as of September 30, 2002. For the first time since the end of 2001, quarterly sales increased slightly by + 2.5 %. Nine months’ profit margin was 12.9 % before tax.

Pentair (NYSE: PNR) announced that it generated third quarter 2002 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.75, a 13.6 percent gain over EPS of $0.66 — without goodwill amortization — in the same period last year.

Flowserve Corp. reported net income of 17 cents a share in the third quarter of 2002, compared with 15 cents a share in the year ago quarter. Excluding special items, net income was 31 cents a share in the third quarter of 2002, in line with the company’s recent guidance, compared with 38 cents in the prior year period.

Order intake by the Sulzer Corporation for the first nine months 2002 totalled CHF 1463 million (–6% compared with prior year, +1% adjusted for acquisitions, divestitures and currency effects). Order intake by the core divisions was CHF 1425 million, 3% below prior year level (adjusted: +1%).

National-Oilwell, Inc. reported third quarter net income of $17.8 million ($0.22 per diluted share) compared to $28.9 million ($0.36 per diluted share) in the third quarter of 2001. Revenues for the quarter were $366.9 million, compared to $486.8 million in the third quarter of 2001.

IDEX Corporation reported that orders, sales and earnings for the three months ended September 30, 2002, significantly improved from the same quarter last year but were slightly below this year’s second quarter levels. Diluted earnings per share for the just completed quarter were 45 cents.

The Gorman-Rupp Company (AMEX:GRC)announced that financial results for the second quarter and first six months of 2002 reflect slowed economic conditions in the capital goods and industrial sectors.

In view of the challenging market situation, the Sulzer Corporation attained satisfactory profitability per mid-year 2002, with an operating income (EBIT) of CHF 66 million and net income reaching CHF 42 million. Operating income of the core divisions totaled CHF 31 million, 26% below the prior-year figure of CHF 42 million. Although the economic environment is likely to remain difficult in the second half of 2002, the Sulzer Corporation expects to end the year with a respectable net income compared to the breakeven result of the prior year.