Reijo Mäihäniemi Appointed New President And CEO of Efore

Efore Plc's Board of Directors elected Reijo Mäihäniemi as the new President and CEO of the company. Mr Mäihäniemi will take on the duties of President and CEO as from June 07, 2006. He succeeds Markku Hangasjärvi, who resigns from the service of Efore Plc at his own request. Hangasjärvi will continue to carry out special duties for the Efore Board of Directors up to December 7, 2006.

Reijo Mäihäniemi, 58, is currently a member of the Efore Plc Board but will resign from this duty and from the membership of various committees on June 8, 2006 when he starts as President and CEO. He has previously held management positions in Tellabs Oy, Teleste Corp. and Nokia Oyj. He has a total of over 30 years of experience in operative business management in the industrial sectors of professional electronics.

Efore Plc's financial performance improved in the early part of the year compared with the previous year. Net sales increased significantly. The Board expects net sales for the entire year to increase distinctly on the previous year and the operating profit and earnings per share to improve on the previous financial period. The Efore Plc Board believes that in this situation the appointment of Reijo Mäihäniemi as President and CEO will provide a good starting point for continuing to develop corporate operations, improve profitability, consolidate the company's strategic position and boost competitive edge in the medium term.

"During my period as President and CEO in 2001-2006, Efore has grown into one of the most important actors in the global power supply business. Efore has excellent prospects for continuing its profitable growth in the future," said Hangasjärvi.

"Efore's market position has grown substantially stronger, major inputs have been made in product development and its future prospects are favourable. In order to establish a foundation for business operations, the company must grow and continue to perform sufficiently well at the same time. New business initiatives will also be considered over the next few months in order to boost growth and further profitability improvement," said Mäihäniemi.