Nordic Business Report-February 8, 2007-Nobia AB and De MandemakersGroep Holding BV establish joint company for German kitchen retail market (C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com Swedish kitchen interiors company Nobia AB announced on Thursday (8 February) that it has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Dutch company De MandemakersGroep Holding BV. The new joint company, Culinoma, aims to become a leading player in the German kitchen retail market and has for the purpose acquired all shares of Plana Kuchenland Lizenz & Marketing GmbH. The Plana Kuchenland franchise comprises 38 kitchen stores with combined sales of EUR70m, primarily in southern Germany. The acquisition price was not disclosed. "We are committed to developing retail channels for kitchens in all of the European markets where we do business. We look forward to developing Culinoma together with De MandemakersGroep and are delighted about the acquisition of Plana Kuchenland, which represents a promising platform for our further expansion in Germany," said Fredrik Cappelen, president and CEO of Nobia. Nobia on Thursday also published its financial report for 2006, posting an operating profit of SEK1,327m, up by 34% from SEK993m in 2005. Earnings per share also increased by 34%, amounting to SEK14.78. Net sales improved by 25%, growing from SEK12,442m in 2005 to SEK15,590m in 2006. Nobia, headquartered in Stockholm in Sweden, is a leading European kitchen company with 8,000 employees and net sales of EUR1.8bn. The company is listed on the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 1.49 euros (EUR). ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))