Marcolin Board of Directors approves 2007 financial statements

Chaired by Giovanni Marcolin Coffen, the Board of Directors of Marcolin S.p.A. approved the drafts of the consolidated financial statements and the financial statements for the parent company as at December 31, 2007.

The Marcolin Group's 2007 financial year was characterized by the following events:
-considerable growth in billings generated mainly by the Luxury & Fashion segment;
-the recovery of core business margins (the sun and vision segment represents around 90% of the Group's billings) which gave a positive net result once again;
-significant non-recurrent charges incurred by the closure of the business linked to the winter sector of the Cébé brand (representing about 10% of billings), which had a negative effect on Marcolin Group results;
-the change in the Group's top management with the appointment of a new chief executive and managing director aimed at ensuring the Group's strategic leadership and improving profitability.

MAIN CONSOLIDATED DATA

Billings

Billings stood at Euro 182.3 million, a 15.8% increase compared to December 31, 2006 (Euro 157.4 million). At constant exchange rates the increase would have been 18.3%.

Sales by geographical area:
Sales divided by geographical area increased in foreign markets, a sign of the Group's greater internationalization, and were in line with Marcolin's development strategy.
In particular, the U.S.A. and the 'Rest of the World' contributed to growth by almost 50%, with Europe making up the other 50%, whereas the domestic market remained basically the same as the previous year.
Significant increases in sales by the subsidiaries in France (+70.6%), Spain (+28.2%) and Germany (+51.8%).
Important growth in billings was also recorded in the Middle East (58%) and Eastern Europe (42%).

Ebitda/Ebit

Financial year 2007 ended with a positive Ebitda of Euro 10.6 million (Euro 5.3 million at December 31, 2006), representing 5.8% of billings (3.4% of billings at the end of 2006), with a significant improvement in absolute terms of Euro 5.3 million compared to the previous year.

The improved Ebitda compared to 2006 is mainly due to the following:
-improvement in sales margins by Marcolin USA, which increased its Ebitda by Euro 3.3 million;
-smaller incidence of royalties paid to licensors - because the guaranteed minimum has been exceeded - and other fixed costs as a direct consequence of the Group's increase in billings;
-an increase in general and administration costs that were less than proportional to billings.

To have a better idea of the Group's financial trend, the Ebitda trend in the sun and vision eyewear business area (which represents about 90% of the Group's billings) should be analyzed separately from that for the products in the sport area:
-the former had improved Ebitda of Euro 5.9 million, increasing from Euro 9.4 million at December 31, 2006, to Euro 15.3 million or 9.3% of billings (6.8% at December 31, 2006), with a percentage increase of 63%;
-the sport area recorded a downturn in Ebitda of Euro 0.6 million, passing from a negative Euro 4.1 million to a negative Euro 4.7 million.
The operating result (Ebit) was negative at Euro 0.1 million compared to a negative figure of Euro 6.7 million at December 31, 2006, with a net improvement due to the aforementioned factors.

Net result

The consolidated result for the year was negative at Euro 6.9 million (a loss of Euro 13.3 million at December 31, 2006) and this was due exclusively to the negative effect of Cébé. In overall terms, Cébé's negative impact on the Marcolin Group's 2007 profit and loss account stood at Euro 9.2 million, 3.6 million of which for reorganization costs and Euro 5.6 million for the operational loss recorded by the French subsidiary in 2007.

The Group's core business (the sun and vision segment which represents about 90% of the Group's billings) is again profitable with a positive Euro 2.4 million compared to a negative Euro 2.5 million at December 31, 2006.

Net financial position

The consolidated net financial position (including the Cébé figure) was negative at Euro 36.2 million at the end of 2007 compared to a negative Euro 32.1 million at December 31, 2006. This was influenced mainly by the absorption of funds for investments. Cash flow generated by operations was positive at Euro 1.1 million, with a net improvement (Euro 11.1 million) against the previous year.At December 31, 2007, Cébé's net financial position, calculated and expressed as part of operations, was negative at Euro 3.5 million. The Group's net financial position excluding Cébé would have been negative at Euro 32.8 million (negative at Euro 29.1 million at December 31, 2006).