Following a number of crises, business seems to be looking up for Danish toy manufacturer Lego (Billund / Denmark; www.lego.com). In the first half of 2006, the tradition-steeped but hard pressed company moved back into the black, posting pretax earnings of DKK 238m (EUR 32m), compared with a loss of DKK 202m (EUR 27m) in the same period of 2005. The main reasons for the turnaround, said the company, were further cost savings and higher manufacturing efficiency.

Sales of the famous plastic building bricks rose 19.3% in the year´s first six months to DKK 2.8 bn (EUR 378m). Lego said demand was particularly strong for traditional products such as the "City" and "Duplo" lines, but licensed goods also sold much better than usual in years without major motion picture launches. In Scandinavia, Benelux and Japan, business exceeded expectations and developed as planned in the US, Germany, UK and France.

For the year as a whole, the toy maker expects sales at last year´s level (in the range of EUR 940m), while adjusted pretax earnings – on a comparable basis – are seen as moving ahead from EUR 61m to EUR 94m. Savings are expected to come in future in particular from the relocation of most of the company´s production from Denmark and Switzerland to eastern Europe and Mexico (see Plasteurope.com Web of 26.06.2006). The shift will take place over the next three years.