President and CEO Hans Stråberg's comments on the third quarter 2008

President and CEO Hans Stråberg's comments on the third quarter 2008

The financial crisis has without a doubt affected the consumption levels of
appliances. Many consumers are postponing their purchases or choosing less
expensive products. And there's no evidence that the weak market developments
will turn around in the near future. 

In spite of this headwind, we are largely pleased with how we have performed in
the third quarter. If we look beyond our non-recurring costs and the cost for
the launch in North America, the Group's result for the first three quarters was
at the same level as last year. We are launching products in the US with great
success. In Europe, we are starting to see the results of all the savings
measures we're taking. The other operations within Electrolux continue to
deliver very strong results, and we have a strong cash flow. But we still have
more to do.

We have now seen nine consecutive quarters of decline in the North American
market, which is a dramatic decline. We are approaching the consumption level of
appliances for 2001. Still, we are very satisfied with the fact that we with our
base business—under the Frigidaire brand—have taken market shares in the third
quarter and delivered a result on a par with last year. We have implemented our
third price increase in the space of one year to compensate for the rising costs
for raw materials. 

The launch of Electrolux as a major appliances brand on the North American
market continues to exceed our expectations. Our products are today sold in more
than 3,000 retail outlets all across North America. In September, we began the
launch of laundry products under the Electrolux brand, with a grand customer
event in Las Vegas. The products' design, quality and innovative functions were
highly praised by the customers who participated. The first weeks of sales show
that consumers are of the same mind.

After the very comprehensive launch of new products in Europe last year, we have
now further increased our focus on cutting costs within the operations, through
the transfer of production to low-cost countries, a decrease in the number of
employees and lower product costs. We are beginning to see results of these
measures, while also recognizing that there is further potential to reduce costs
within our European operations. Moreover, we must further increase our prices in
Europe to compensate for rising raw material costs, just as we've done in the
US. 

While keeping in mind that the appliances operations in Europe and North America
are important for the Group's profitability, we are very pleased about the
improvements in Latin America and Asia/Pacific, and for professional and
floor-care products. In spite of negative trends in demand, our
strategy—investments in innovative products, a strong Electrolux brand, and low
costs—are working.

As stated, we are in the midst of a very uncertain period, where the
developments on our main markets—Europe and North America—are not likely to
improve in the near future. This means that we are refraining from giving an
outlook regarding the developments of market demand. In light of what we know
today, we still believe that we will deliver an operating income for the
full-year 2008 of SEK 3,300 - 3,900m, excluding items affecting comparability. 

Stockholm, October 27, 2008

Hans Stråberg
President and Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact Electrolux Media Hotline on +46 8 657 65 07

Electrolux is a global leader in home appliances and appliances for professional
use, selling more than 40 million products to customers in 150 countries every
year. The company focuses on innovations that are thoughtfully designed, based
on extensive consumer insight, to meet the real needs of consumers and
professionals. Electrolux products include refrigerators, dishwashers, washing
machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers sold under esteemed brands such as
Electrolux, AEG-Electrolux, Eureka and Frigidaire. In 2007, Electrolux had sales
of SEK 105 billion and 57,000 employees. For more information, visit
http://www.electrolux.com/press


Electrolux discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities
Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was
submitted for publication at 08.00 CET on 
October 27, 2008.