Recylex

Earnings Release • Feb 14, 2013

FULL-YEAR SALES TO DECEMBER 31, 2012

Sales up 3% despite decrease in metals prices

Suresnes, February 14, 2013: The Recylex Group (NYSE Euronext Paris: FR0000120388 - RX) has today reported its full-year sales for the year to December 31, 2012 and for the fourth quarter of 2012. They came respectively to €471.1 million, up 3% compared to 2011, and to €127.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, up 49% on the fourth quarter of 2011.

The breakdown in consolidated sales in the year to December 31, 2012 by business segment was as follows:

	Year to	Year to	% change
(€ million)	December 31, 2012	December 31, 2011
Lead	353.5	332.3	+6%
Zinc	81.5	83.8	-3%
Special metals	23.1	29.2	-21%
Plastics	13.0	12.3	+5%
Total	471.1	457.6	+3%

Consolidated sales by business segment (unaudited figures):

Commenting on these figures, Yves Roche, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Recylex Group, said:

"The Recylex Group achieved a good production and sales performance during the 2012 financial year, with a good fourth quarter when we reaped the benefit of a more favourable pricing environment for metals. The Group's consolidated 2012 sales grew by 3% in spite of the fall in lead and zinc prices during the year. Our investments in our production facilities and the hard work by our teams paid off. Given its current situation, the Group will continue to pay particular attention to its balance sheet, further production improvements and business development."

1. Metals prices to December 31, 2012

In spite of a firmer trend during the fourth quarter, 2012 brought lower lead and zinc prices given the high base of comparison. Average prices in the year to December 31 were as follows:

(€ per tonne)	Year to December 31, 2012	Year to December 31, 2011	% change
Lead	1,603	1,722	-7%
Zinc	1,514	1,574	-4%

During the fourth quarter of 2012, lead prices rose by 15% and zinc prices by 7% compared with the same period of 2011.

2. Breakdown of consolidated sales

Consolidated sales during the 2012 financial year came to €471.1 million, up 3% compared with the same period of 2011.

Consolidated sales in the fourth quarter of 2012 totalled €127.7 million, up 49% compared with the same period of 2011. This solid increase was driven by the strong growth in volumes sold in the Lead segment, the rise in lead and zinc prices during the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the fourth quarter of 2011 and a favorable base of comparison.

Lead

During the 2012 financial year, Lead sales accounted for 75% of consolidated sales. Sales grew by 6% despite the 7% fall in lead prices over the year and the 4% decline in the price of silver–a by-product at the main Nordenham smelter in Germany.

This good performance was attributable to the sharp increase in volumes sold owing to productivity gains achieved mainly at the Nordenham smelter (over 142,000 tonnes produced, the highest level since the plant was commissioned) and a favorable base of comparison in the fourth quarter of 2012.

During the fourth quarter of 2012, consolidated sales totalled €98.3 million. This 67% increase was driven by the strong growth in volumes sold coupled with the rise in lead prices compared with the same period of 2011 (up 15%) and a favourable base of comparison.

To recap, the Nordenham smelter shut down for three weeks of scheduled maintenance during the final quarter of 2011 and no major maintenance shutdown was made in 2012. The next one will occur during the first quarter of 2013.

Eco-Recyclage, in which Recylex SA owns a 33.33% interest, decided to suspend the exports of materials produced in its battery treatment plant until further notice, pending a positioning from the Algerian customs. As a result, 6,400 tonnes of batteries were processed in 2012, compared with some 10,000 tonnes in 2011. Given the improvement in the Group's productivity in this segment, this suspension did not have a significant impact on the evolution of the Lead segment.

Zinc

Zinc sales accounted for 17% of consolidated sales during the 2012 financial year. They recorded a small decline of 3% compared with 2011, while zinc prices slipped 4% during 2012. Trends varied from one business to another in this segment during the year:

• The zinc scrap recycling business experienced a sharp slowdown in demand for zinc oxides during the period;
• Waelz oxide production was boosted by the improvement in the business environment. The Group reaped the benefit of the improvement made to the production process at German subsidiary Harz-Metall GmbH, which now recovers more zinc from recycled materials. To recap, the Recytech plant, which is 50%-owned by Recylex, was shut down for a lengthy scheduled maintenance period of six weeks in the first half of 2012 to replace close to one-third of its furnace.

The Zinc segment's consolidated sales during the fourth quarter of 2012 recorded an increase of 11% compared with the same period of 2011. They totalled €19.7 million owing primarily to the rise in zinc prices (up 7%).

Special Metals

Special metals sales contributed 5% of the consolidated total in the financial year to December 31, 2012. They recorded a strong decline of 21% over the full year. This contraction was driven in particular by a sharp drop in demand for arsenic and for cadmium telluride, as well as a more moderate fall in demand for germanium. The performance of this highly cyclical business reflected the sluggish demand in semiconductors sectors and the photovoltaic industry's great difficulties in Europe.

During the final quarter of 2012, consolidated sales remained stable compared with the same period of 2011 at €6.5 million. The fourth quarter of 2012 brought an improvement in the trend by comparison with the first three quarters of 2012, yet demand recovery can not be confirmed.

Plastics

Plastics sales contributed 3% of consolidated sales during 2012. The segment recorded growth of 5% over the period amid challenging economic conditions, especially in the automobile industry.

C2P-France, the Group's French subsidiary specialized in polypropylene recycling, posted higher sales volumes on the back of sales initiatives since the beginning of 2012 (new customers in the automobile sector) and improvements to its product range (higher value-added products and customers), which drove up the average selling price.

Consolidated fourth-quarter 2012 sales posted an increase of 21% compared with the same period of 2011 owing to the same factors.

3. Legal proceedings* in progress concerning Metaleurop Nord SAS

Action for the repayment of liabilities

In a ruling handed down on September 19, 2012, the Douai Court of Appeal upheld the ruling by the Béthune Regional Court on February 27, 2007 dismissing the request submitted by the liquidators of Metaleurop Nord SAS for it to order Recylex SA to repay the €50 million in liabilities of Metaleurop Nord SAS, on the grounds that Recylex SA was not the de facto manager of its subsidiary. On November 22, 2012, Metaleurop Nord's liquidators decided to appeal in the Cour de Cassation [France's supreme court].

Former employees of Metaleurop Nord SAS

On September 12, 2012, the Cour de Cassation dismissed the appeal submitted by Recylex, together with the appeals lodged by six former protected employees, against the rulings handed down by the Douai Appeal Court on December 17, 2010.

As part of the claims for compensation lodged in 2010 by 192 former managerial and nonmanagerial employees of Metaleurop Nord SAS, the Industry section of the Lens Labour Tribunal postponed the examination of the claims of 137 former non-managerial employees to its départage hearing on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Furthermore, on January 15, 2013, the Management Section of the Lens Labour Tribunal granted €50,000 in damages and €400 in costs to each of the 48 unprotected former managerial employees (employees who were not staff representatives), and €30,000 in damages and €400 in costs to one unprotected former managerial employee. The Company intends to lodge an appeal against these decisions, which are not provisionally enforceable. Conversely, it rejected the claims of six protected former managerial employees.

To recap, provisions for the full amount claimed in connection with these proceedings (around €9.9 million) have been set aside in the Company's financial statements.

*A document summarising the developments in legal proceedings against Recylex SA can be found on the Recylex Group's website (www.recylex.fr – News – Legal proceedings schedule).

4. Financial reporting schedule

Next publication on Thursday, March 21, 2013: Full-year 2012 results

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Recycle, Transform, Enhance

With operations in France, Germany and Belgium, Recylex is a European Group specialised in lead and plastic recycling (mainly from automobile and industrial batteries), in zinc particles recycling (from electric steel plants dust), in zinc scrap recycling and in special metals production notably for the electronics industry. The Recylex Group has close to 650 employees and generated consolidated sales of € 458 million in 2011.

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More information on the Recylex Group can be found on: www.recylex.fr

Press/Investor contact:

Gabriel ZEITLIN + 33 (0)1 58 47 29 89 gabriel.zeitlin@recylex.fr

(€ per tonne)	st 1 quarter 2012	nd 2 quarter 2012	rd 3 quarter 2012	th 4 quarter 2012	st 1 quarter 2011	nd 2 quarter 2011	rd 3 quarter 2011	th 4 quarter 2011
Lead	1,597	1,536	1,581	1,698	1,905	1,779	1,742	1,472
Zinc	1,544	1,502	1,509	1,504	1,750	1,568	1,575	1,408

1. Metals prices by quarter

2. Consolidated sales by business segment and by quarter

(€ million)	st 1 quarter 2012	nd 2 quarter 2012	rd 3 quarter 2012	th 4 quarter 2012	st 1 quarter 2011	nd 2 quarter 2011	rd 3 quarter 2011	th 4 quarter 2011
Lead	90.1	84.7	80.4	98.3	89.1	93.1	91.1	59.0
Zinc	21.6	18.8	21.4	19.7	23.7	20.2	22.2	17.8
Special metals	5.0	5.5	6.1	6.5	7.2	8.4	7.0	6.5
Plastics	3.3	3.4	3.1	3.2	3.4	3.7	2.6	2.6
Total	120.0	112.4	111.0	127.7	123.4	125.4	122.9	85.9

3. Recylex SA's sales

	Year to December	Year to December
(€ million)	31, 2012	31, 2011
Lead activities	81.8	87.9
Services to Group companies	1.5	1.3
Total sales	83.3	89.2

Disclaimer: this press release contains regulated quarterly financial information for the Recylex Group as defined in Article L. 451-1-2-IV of the French Monetary and Financial Code and Article 221-1 of the AMF General Regulations. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets. These statements are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties as described in the Company's annual report available on its website (www.recylex.fr). Further information about Recylex is available from its website (www.recylex.fr).