Schneider Electric presents the strategy and prospects for its new Critical Power & Cooling Services Business Unit, combining APC and MGE

Schneider Electric (Euronext: SCHN) took advantage of Investor Days on November 28 and 29 to present the strategy and prospects for its new Critical Power & Cooling Services Business Unit, which was formed in February 2007 after the Group acquired APC and combined its operations with those of MGE UPS Systems.

Speaking in St. Louis, Missouri, where Schneider Electric has a Technology Center focused on leading-edge solutions for data centers energy efficiency and performance, the Business Unit’s management presented:

- Challenges and trends in the Critical Power & Cooling market. Customers’ emerging needs require integrated power and cooling solutions to solve the growing issue of energy efficiency for critical applications.

- The solutions portfolio and differentiating factors. The Business Unit’s leadership positions, combined with the strength of Schneider Electric’s other lineups, allows it to offer unique, comprehensive, innovative solutions in fast growing markets.

- The strategic ambition and performance plans for Critical Power & Cooling services’ two main business lines: Home & Distributed and Enterprise & Systems.

- Critical Power & Cooling services’ unique expertise in facility design, operation and energy management for the high-potential data centers market.

Thanks to the successful integration of APC’s and MGE UPS Systems’ resources over the past nine months, the Critical Power & Cooling Services Business Unit has turned in an excellent performance. The Business Unit’s strong sales growth has confirmed the success of its products and solutions in the booming Critical Power & Cooling market. Furthermore, the initial impact of synergies and the deployment of additional efficiencies plans have driven a remarkable improvement in profitability.

As a result, Schneider Electric anticipates the following results for the Critical Power & Cooling Services Business Unit in 2007:

- Sales of $3,500 million.
- EBITA before non-recurring charges* of around $430 million, double the 2006 figure, for a margin in the region of 12% (up 5 points).
- EBITA** of around $390 million.

* EBITA before non-recurring charges: restructuring costs and assets value adjustments
** EBITA: operating profit before amortization of purchase accounting intangibles.

In addition, Schneider Electric revises the following targets for 2009 upwards:

- Sales of between $4,300 million and $4,500 million, representing average annual organic growth of between 11% and 13%.
- EBITA of between $650 million and $750 million, for a margin of between 15% and 17%.

The presentations are available at www.schneider-electric.com

About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric, the world’s power and control specialist, anticipates and satisfies its customers’ requirements in the residential, building, industry and energy and infrastructure markets. With 112,000 employees and operations in 190 countries, Schneider Electric generated revenue of €13.7 billion in 2006 through 15,000 distributor outlets.
www.schneider electric.com

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