UPDATE: Investor Says Value Of Investments Up In 2Q

13th Jul 2010 08:37

(Adds detail, comment.) By Erik Durhan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES STOCKHOLM (Dow Jones)--Investor AB (INVE-B.SK), the investment vehicle of the Swedish Wallenberg family, Tuesday said the value of its investments rose 3.7% in the three months to June 30, driven mainly by growth in its core investments. Stockholm-based Investor said its closely-watched net asset value rose to SEK147.9 billion Swedish kronor ($19.71 billion), or SEK195 a share, slightly beating market expectations of SEK191--and up from SEK153.2 in the first quarter and SEK165 a year earlier. Investor holds stakes in some of Sweden's largest companies such as ABB Ltd. (ABB), Atlas Copco AB (ATCO-A.SK), LM Ericsson Telephone Co (ERIC) and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB-A.SK). "Core Investments had a positive contribution to net asset value in the second quarter, mainly driven by Ericsson and AstraZeneca PLC (AZN)," said Chief Executive Borje Ekholm. The report contained no surprises, according to Handelsbanken analyst Jaan Koll, who said, "operating investments look strong, and slightly better than we thought, and the net asset value per share was in line with forecasts." At 0717 GMT, Investor shares were 0.2% higher at SEK129.6, underperforming the broader Swedish market. CEO Ekholm said Investor's financial position remains strong, and the company will continue to "strengthen ownership in core investments, grow operating investments and develop private equity investments." Net profit in the three month period was SEK797 million compared with SEK16.84 billion a year earlier. The recent acquisition of healthcare and care service provider Aleris, in which Investor made a net investment of SEK1.7 billion, is not included in the second quarter numbers as the transaction has not yet closed. -By Erik Durhan, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3091; [email protected] Order free Annual Report for AstraZeneca UK Ltd Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=GB0009895292 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 03:37 ET (07:37 GMT)