Feintool International Holding (SWF:FTON) Feintool Sales Significantly Higher In 2007/08 Financial Year

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Advance information on business volumes Information on the results and the financial position as at the end of the financial year (30 September 2008) will be released at the press conference on 2 December 2008.

The Feintool Group, a leading technology and systems provider and global components supplier based in Lyss (Switzerland), has reported a significant increase in sales for the 2007/08 financial year ended 30 September 2008. Thanks to attractive products and services that provide a high degree of customer benefit, as well as to the good level of orders at the start of the financial year, consolidated sales rose by a further 9.4% year-on-year to CHF 569.3 million (up from CHF 520.4 million). Owing to the repercussions of the financial crisis on the business cycle, order intake and orders in hand have recently been declining, notably since the beginning of the 4th quarter. Order intake came to CHF 553.5 million and orders in hand amounted to CHF 220.1 million, i.e. 5.7% and 7.4% below their levels a year previously.

Sales up a further 9.4% The core Fineblanking/Forming segment increased its sales by 8.8% to CHF 367.3 million (previous year: CHF 337.5 million), thereby contributing 64.4% to Group sales (previous year: 64.9%). In the presses and equipment business, sales of the Feintool and Schmid brands managed once again to improve on the high levels of the preceding years. In the component business, the European and Japanese factories achieved two-digit growth rates. Sales at our American locations were for the most part down on the year, primarily owing to the dollar's weakness against the Swiss franc and the effects of the financial crisis. The increase in business at the Automation segment was particularly impressive: here, sales rose by 21.1% to CHF 141.0 million (up from CHF 116.4 million in the previous financial year) and accounted for 24.7% of the Group total. This positive development is due to the high demand for the attractive, updated product range of Automation Components and to Automation Systems' high volume of orders in hand at the beginning of the financial year. The negative trend in net sales in the Plastic/Metal Components segment from CHF 67.5 million to CHF 62.2 million is in line with expectations. It is due to product expirations and the insufficient number of new orders won during recent years. As a result, the segment's contribution to Group sales comes to 10.9%.

Order intake and orders in hand slightly below previous year's record level. Order intake in the Fineblanking/Forming segment came to CHF 360.0 million and orders in hand amounted to CHF 150.3 million, i.e. 3.2% and 7.0% below their levels a year previously. The repercussions of the financial crisis, especially on the automotive industry, adversely affected incoming and outstanding orders in the final months of the financial year. In the Automation segment, both order intake and orders in hand were lower than a year earlier, falling respectively from CHF 146.7 million to CHF 134.1 million (3.2%) and from CHF 58.0 to CHF 54.4 million (6.2%). Thanks to its attractive product range, Automation Components boasts significantly better figures for order intake and orders in hand. In contrast, Automation Systems and Riveting received fewer orders due to a shortage of major contracts. The forecast drop in order intake in the Plastic/Metal Components segment from CHF 68.0 million to CHF 59.3 million, and the attendant fall in orders in hand from CHF 18.0 million to CHF 15.4 million, was in line with expectations but is nevertheless unsatisfactory.

Figures in CHF 30.9.08 Previous year Change % ___________________________ _______ ___________ _______

Fineblanking/Forming sales 367.3 m 337.5 m + 8.8%

Automation sales 141.0 m 116.4 m + 21.1%

Plastic/Metal Components sales 62.2 m 67.5 m - 7.8%

Consolidated sales 569.3 m 520.4 m + 9.4%

Consolidated order intake 553.5 m 586.6 m - 5.7%
Consolidated orders in hand 220.1 m 237.7 m - 7.4% ___________________________ ______ ___________ _______



For further information, please contact: Joachim Kaufmann, CEO, and Jürg E. Wenger, CFO, phone +41 (0)32 387 51 11 investor.relations@feintool.com

Feintool is a leading technology and systems provider in fineblanking/forming and assembly automation. It is also a global supplier of metal and plastic components.

Feintool operates globally at the company's own facilities in Switzerland (head office in Lyss), Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, the United States, Japan and China, where around 1900 employees are committed to customer satisfaction.

Feintool International Holding Industriering 8, CH-3250 Lyss Phone +41 (0)32 387 51 11 Fax +41 (0)32 387 57 81 feintool-fim@feintool.com www.feintool.com

Corporate Communications

Urs Feitknecht Phone +41 (0)32 387 51 63 Fax +41 (0)32 387 54 16 Mobile +41 (0)79 204 41 13 urs.feitknecht@feintool.com

The media release can be downloaded from the following link:

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Feintool International Holding Industriering 8 Lyss Schweiz

WKN: 905428; ISIN: CH0009320091 ; Index: SPI, SPIEX, SSCI; Listed: Main Market in SWX Swiss Exchange;



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Feintool International Holding

http://www.feintool.com

ISIN: CH0009320091

Stock Identifier: XSWX.FTON