With the acquisition of the Essen-based DMT, TÜV NORD Group has added an additional business unit, that of Natural Resources, to its portfolio of services. The purchase of the Dutch company Verebus Engineering, with its Railway Signalling, Engineering Services and Technical Documentation units, opens up new opportunities on the European railway market. At the turn of the year Delphos Academy was acquired, enabling TÜV NORD Academy to substantially enhance its competence in security matters. Altogether, acquisitions added more than 800 people to the Group’s workforce. “These new companies are developing very encouragingly; and TÜV NORD Group’s integration concept has made an essential contribution to their ability to do so,” said Dr. Rettig.

The Systems business unit generated sales revenues of €158.6 million (previous year: 157.7). Since last year, the business unit has been offering one-stop shopping services for the Power Station, Oil and Gas and Chemistry and Building Technology sectors throughout Germany. TÜV NORD Systems is one of the partners who are to undertake the inspection of the Baltic “Nord Stream” pipeline: the task covers quality assurance for the 1,200-km-long pipeline that is to be laid from Russia to Germany.

The Energy and Systems Engineering business unit can also look back on a successful year, with sales revenues of €97.2 million (previous year: 75.9). The technical experts and inspectors of TÜV NORD SysTec in Hamburg have been active in the field of reactor safety for 50 years now; the company’s tasks in this area include assessing nuclear installations with regard to their susceptibility to possible incidents. In addition, the company was commissioned to certify the world’s biggest wind turbine in the Altenwerder district of Hamburg.

At €31.8 million, the sales revenues of the Training and Human Resources business unit were well up on the previous year (26.9). TÜV NORD Academy has launched a number of new seminars, for example one in the field of Medical Technology dealing with questions of the licensing of medical apparatus and products for both the European and the international market. RWTÜV Academy and the TÜV NORD Training Centre are benefiting from the allocation of additional funds by the Federal Employment Agency.

The Mobility business unit achieved sales revenues of €263 million (previous year: 260.1). In addition to its traditional services, TÜV NORD Mobility is assisting the City of Sao Paolo to build up a system of periodic exhaust emissions testing. The homologation business (the determination of whether vehicles fulfil the requirements for licensing in various markets and comply with exhaust emission and crash test regulations) has been expanded in India and South-East Asia. At the Institute of Vehicle Technology and Mobility, the emphasis last year was on measuring the effectiveness of particulate reduction systems and on starting to undertake the recording of ships’ emissions. In addition, the institute is further enhancing its expertise in the field of electronics, in order to be able to reinforce its position as a provider of high-tech engineering services.

In the current 2008 business year too, TÜV NORD Group’s gratifying progress is continuing. Overall sales revenues are expected to grow to around €800 million. The focus is on the further internationalisation of the business; the contribution from abroad will increase to around 20 per cent or €160 million.

TÜV NORD AG’s annual and consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the German Commercial Code (HGB) and the supplementary provisions of the Stock Corporations Act (AktG). For 2008, TÜV NORD Group is intending the first time to draw up and publish consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).