Cisalpino AG year-end results Bern, Switzerland (ots) - Picture is available at: www.newsaktuell.ch/d/galerie.htx?type=obs Train operator Cisalpino AG can again report buoyant annual results, extending its track record to three profitable years in succession. Sales of CHF 65.82 million are 12% up on the previous year's figure of CHF 58.82 million. Operating result increased by around 54%, from CHF 8.13 million to CHF 12.55 million. This pleasing business development is also reflected in cash flow, which shows an on-year increase of 14% from CHF 18.35 million to CHF 20.91 million. Semi-annual figures for 2002 confirm the positive development trend. 2001 marks a further consolidation of recent results achieved by Cisalpino, an Italian-Swiss joint venture with equity stakes held by Trenitalia S.p.A., the Swiss Federal Railways, the BLS regional railway and several cantons in western Switzerland. 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Sales in CHF million 29.48 41.03 58.30 58.82 65.82 Operating result (EBIT) in CHF million -7.59 -3.13 7.75 8.13 12.55 Net profit in CHF million -10.34 -9.79 0.63 3.30 5.79 Cash flow in CHF million 0.73 1.81 15.34 18.35 20.91 Cisalpino AG's success comes not only from an effective marketing strategy and ongoing cost optimisation, but also its unique organisational structure - a fact confirmed in an audit conducted by one of the principal shareholders. Outsourcing is just one element of the management company's lean organisation that permits flexible response to changes in the travel market. Cisalpino AG holds a concession and licence for the Swiss railway network and operates its tilting trains on three principal routes: Gotthard, Simplon - Geneva and Simplon - Lötschberg. The Cisalpino fleet provides 430 long-distance connections a month, covering a combined annual distance of around 2.5 million kilometres. Fourteen daily connections ply between Stuttgart - Zürich - Milan, Zürich - Milan - Florence, Geneva - Milan - Venice and Basel/Bern - Milan. On the maintenance side, increased efforts are currently underway to improve interior standards in the well-utilised trains. Increasing utilisation confirms the appropriateness of measures introduced to date, which are continually monitored and supplemented in order to provide a quality service on long- distance passenger routes across the Alps. ots Original Text Service: Cisalpino AG Internet: http://www.presseportal.de Contact: Lucio Gastaldi, Managing Director, CISALPINO AG, 3001 Bern, Switzerland, Phone +41-31-329 09 01 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.cisalpino.com 09/07/2002 .