The Power Equipment business, comprised of power tools, hand tools, outdoor products and accessories, delivered USD1.5 billion in sales, 7.9% higher than the same period last year. The business accounted for 74.4% of overall Group sales.

MILWAUKEE^® had a strong six months, once again achieving double-digit sales growth globally, driven by the introduction of innovative new products, execution of targeted field initiatives, and geographic expansion. The rapid global adoption of MILWAUKEE^® FUEL^® lithium technology was a key driver of growth in cordless power tools. We rolled out a series of M12^® and M18^® FUEL^® cordless products that have sold beyond our expectations. We also achieved exceptional growth in MILWAUKEE^® hand tools and accessories throughout the world. MILWAUKEE^® continues to be the fastest growing brand of industrial power tools globally.

Our consumer RYOBI^® brand had an excellent first half driven by new innovative lithium products. One of the highlights in the first-half was the successful launch of the RYOBI^® 18-volt One+ System^® AirStrike™ nailer and a new generation of LITHIUM+^® batteries. The RYOBI^® One+ System^® TV campaign in the US proved to be highly successful in driving demand. RYOBI^® continues to be the leading Do-It-Yourself brand of tools in the world today.

We saw excellent progress with our AEG^® brand in the first half driven by a series of successful new lithium product introductions. We were particularly pleased with the outstanding growth AEG^® delivered in the Australia/New Zealand market in the first half.

Despite challenging weather conditions in North America, we achieved outstanding growth in our outdoor products business, thanks to our highly successful roll out of new RYOBI^® 18-volt One+ System^® and 40-volt lithium powered products. We were particularly pleased with the tremendous sales of the RYOBI^® One+ System^® Hybrid string trimmer which launched in the first half of the year.