ASBIS Maintains Dynamic Growth

In 1H 2008 revenues have grown by 30.5% and net profit by 130.7% year-on-year

ASBISc Enterprises Plc (“ASBIS”), a leading distributor of IT products on fast growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East and North Africa, in 1H 2008 generated sales revenue of USD 704.81m (up by 30.5%) and the net profit of USD 7.31m (up by 130.7%). EBITDA stood at USD 14.78m, indicating a 125.5% increase over the figure in 1H 2007.

“Geographical diversification together with introduction of new products into our portfolio gave us possibility to reach significant growth of results. While some of our competitors suffered from lower demand on particular markets, we operate on many markets and that makes our business model more effective, i.e. we have observed huge growth in the Middle East and a significant increase in software sales in the Russian market, as a result of the combined actions by the Russian authorities and Microsoft. This is reflected in earnings per share, which almost doubled to U.S. $ 0.1311 from U.S.$0.0660 in the corresponding period of 2007”, said Siarhei Kostevitch, ASBIS CEO

In the first half of 2008 gross profit margin increased to 5.9% compared to 4.4% in the corresponding period of 2007. This increase was mainly a result of improved product portfolio and especially the increased sales and margin of software and laptops. Although the market expects a slowdown in sales of software (especially in Russia) the Group was able to fully benefit from the increased demand experienced so far.

“Due to consistent execution of our strategy and further growth of ASBIS operations, the financial results continued showing dynamic growth in 1H 2008. We are one of the key players in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. We expect that new companies in the Group, which operate in Turkey, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Belarus will bring positive results to the Group and improve our market position”, said Siarhei Kostevitch, ASBIS CEO.

DETAILED INFORMATION ON SALES STRUCTURE

1H 2008 was characterised by high growth in financial performance compared to 1H 2007. This was primarily affected by the dynamic growth in sales for the period:

- Revenues from central processing units ("CPUs") increased by 26.8% (both Intel and AMD business has grown) to U.S. $ 189,9 (27.0% of revenues) from U.S. $ 149,9 (27.7% of revenues) in the corresponding period of 2007, mainly due to increase in unit sales.

- Revenues from the sale of software increased by 85.5% to U.S. $ 100,1 (14.2% of revenues) from U.S. $ 53,9 (10.0% of revenues) in the corresponding period of 2007, mainly due to increased demand for Microsoft software especially in Russia. This is a result of the combined efforts of the Russian Government and Microsoft to eliminate illegal software in the country and the abolition of VAT from the sale of such non-exclusive rights in Russia.

- Revenues from the sale of PC-mobile (laptops) increased by 203.9% to U.S. $ 99,9 (14.2% of revenues) from U.S. $ 32,9 (6.1% of revenues) in the corresponding period of 2007, mainly due to an increase in sales of Toshiba and Dell laptops deriving from increased demand for mobile computers (laptops) instead of desktop computers.

- Revenues from the sale of hard disk drives ("HDDs") decreased by 11.2% to U.S. $ 102,8 (14.6% of revenues), from U.S. $ 115,7 (21.4% of revenues) in the corresponding period of 2007, mainly due to a decrease in unit sales derived from lower demand from several markets.

Complete financial reports for Q2 and H1 2008 are available for download on Financial Reports page

 
For additional information, please contact:

Ms Iwona Sacewicz, M+G
Tel. +48 (22) 625 71 40, +48 501 183 386
e-mail Iwona.sacewicz@mplusg.com.pl

Mr Costas Tziamalis, ASBISc Enterprises PLC, Investor Relations
tel. +00 357 25 857 000
e-mail costas@asbis.com

For more information, visit also the company's website at www.asbis.com

About ASBIS

ASBISc Enterprises (“ASBIS”) Plc is based in Cyprus and specializes in the distribution of computer hardware components, blocks and peripherals, and a wide range of IT products and digital equipment. Established in 1995, the company has a presence in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, the former USSR, Middle East, and North Africa.

The Group distributes products of many vendors and manufactures and sells private-label products: Prestigio (LCD monitors, laptops, external storage, leather-coated USB accessories, GPS devices, etc.) and Canyon (MP3 players, networking products and other peripheral devices).

ASBIS has own subsidiaries in 25 countries, more than 1.000 employees and 20.000 customers. The company’s stocks are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since October 2007 under the ticker symbol ASB (ASBIS).