Tomra's 1Q97 revenue up 21 percent to $30.8 million.

ASKER, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 1997--

FIRST QUARTER 1997 HIGHLIGHTS

-- Revenue up 21 percent to NOK 205 million ($30.8 million)

from NOK 170 million.

-- Pre-Tax profit rises 28 percent to NOK 35 million ($5.3 million).

-- Operating margin increases to 17.8 percent.

-- Net income up 21 percent to NOK 23.8 million ($3.6 million).

-- Earnings per share jump 19 percent to NOK 0.63.

-- Tax rate for the quarter calculated at 32 percent.

-- North American sales soar 89 percent.

-- Austrian distributor acquired, better positioning Tomra for

Eastern European sales.

-- New generation of reverse vending machines launched April 9.

-- Tomra celebrates 25th Anniversary.

Erik Thorsen, Managing Director, Tomra Systems ASA, today said: "The launch of the T-600 Ultima, growth and expansion consistent with expectations and celebration of our 25th anniversary have made for another exciting quarter. We remain optimistic that our revenues and profits will continue to grow with our expanding markets."

Gregory S. Garvey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tomra of North America, said of the first quarter '97 results: "Growth of 89 percent in North American sales were generated through expansion of our leasing portfolio, overall container volume increases, and building business on our 1996 acquisitions."

TOMRA SYSTEMS ASA (OTC:TMRAY/Oslo Exchange:TOM), the world leader in reverse vending, today reported 1Q97 revenue of NOK 205 million ($30.8 million), up 21 percent from 1Q96 revenue of NOK 170 million. North American sales soared 89 percent to $18 million.

Operating profit increased 32 percent to NOK 36 million ($5.4 million) on a margin of 17.8 percent, pretax profit increased 28 percent to NOK 35 million ($5.3 million), and net income was up 21 percent to NOK 23.8 million ($3.6 million), or NOK 0.63 per share ($0.09).

Erik Thorsen, Managing Director of Tomra Systems ASA, today said first quarter results were heavily impacted by shifts in Tomra's markets.

"European revenues fell 20 percent to NOK 86 million from the first quarter of 1996 while the American market still shows very strong growth," Mr. Thorsen added. "The decline in Europe was due largely to reduced activity in Finland and Sweden, which we anticipated. Growth outside these two markets was 28 percent."

In January Tomra positioned itself to expand sales in the Eastern European markets by acquiring its Austrian distributor, Tomra Leergutsysteme GmbH. The purchase price was NOK 32 million and was based on the company's 1996 earnings. The net effect of the acquisition on Tomra's 1Q97 sales was NOK 5 million.

Sales in Germany were flat during the quarter, due mainly to the introduction of the Ultima T-600, Tomra's new generation of reverse vending machines. Mr. Thorsen noted, however, that German orders for the T-600 are "very satisfactory," and he expects substantial improvement in German sales for the full year.

The customer satisfaction survey underway in the UK is still ongoing and is producing positive results.

First quarter '97 US revenues soared 89 percent to NOK 119 million ($18 million) compared with NOK 63 million in 1Q96.

Gregory S. Garvey, President and CEO, Tomra of North America, said the results reflect value added services, growing container volume and business building from 1996 acquisitions. Tomra is negotiating with the Michigan Soft Drink Association (MSDA) to provide statewide pick-up and processing service of used beverage containers. As part of this process, Tomra has combined efforts with an existing Michigan materials operator, Schupan. The parties are negotiating the financial terms of a final agreement.

Mr. Garvey said Tomra has acquired, effective April 14, the reverse vending assets of Clean Environment for $900,000 and will combine these assets, including 200 machines, with Mobile Redemption Inc., Tomra's existing Massachusetts operation. Mr. Garvey added the acquisition provides a base for expanded activities in the Massachusetts market.

The Tomra-600 Ultima generation of new reverse vending machines offers a completely new recognition system, Tomra Realtime Image Procession System (TRIPS), which enables the machines to recognize the shape of bottles and identify them in any given position. The T-600 Ultima can be equipped to handle beverage crates, and later, one-way containers with barcode reading.

TOMRA SYSTEMS ASA, based in Norway, is the world's leading reverse vending business, with operations in Europe and North and South America. Dollar sales in 1996 reached NOK 784 million ($121.2 million) an increase of 56 percent over 1995. TOMRA has a Level I ADR Program initiated in 1994. -0-

                                     TOMRA GROUP
                                  FIRST QUARTER 1997

Exhange rate as of Mar. 31, 1997: 6.64 NOK = US$1.00

PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT                    1 Quarter       Full Year
(Figures in NOK million)             1997        1996       1996

Operating Revenues                   204.5       170.4      783.5
Cost of goods sold                   107.6        84.8      395.9
Leasing depreciation                  11.6         5.5       29.4
Gross contribution                    85.3        80.1      358.2
Operating expenses                    44.4        47.8      181.6
Ordinary depriciation                  4.9         5.1       24.3
Operating profit                      36.0        27.2      152.3
Net financial items                   (0.7)         0.2      (3.1)
Minority interest                     (0.3)          _       (2.1)
Profit before tax                     35.0        27.4      147.1
Taxes                                 11.2         7.7       44.9
Net Profit                            23.8        19.7      102.2


BALANCE SHEET                             31 March
(Figures in NOK million)              1997        1996    31 Dec. 1996

ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents             45.2        24.0       44.2
Other current assets                 329.2       288.3      326.7
Leasing equipment                    199.5       119.7      185.9
Other fixed assets                   363.1       200.4      327.2
TOTAL ASSETS                         937.0       632.4      884.0

LIABILITIES & EQUITY
Short-Term interest-bearing
 liabilities                          36.2        19.7       11.5
Other Short-Term liabilities         197.4       132.9      185.5
Long-term, interest-bearing
 liabilities                         145.9        55.1      156.3
Deferred taxes                        27.0        12.4       26.5
Minority interests                     2.9                    4.1
Equity                               527.6       412.3      500.1
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY           937.0       632.4      884.0


INTERIM RESULTS      1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter
BY QUARTER               1996        1996       1996       1996

Operating revenues       170.4       195.3      191.1      226.7
Operating profit          27.2        37.9       44.1       43.1
Profit before tax         27.4        36.7       41.8       41.2
Sales growth              62.1%       72.8%      50.5%      45.5%
Profit ratio              16.1%       18.8%      21.9%      18.2%

CONTACT: Gregory S. Garvey

President and CEO

TOMRA OF NORTH AMERICA

Tel. [phone], Ext. 225

or

Anthony Della Volpe

Corporate Controller

TOMRA OF NORTH AMERICA

Tel. [phone], Ext. 238

or

Jane Valdez

Investor Relations

The Anne McBride Company, Inc.

Tel. [phone]

Fax. [phone]