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Earnings Release • Mar 31, 2008

News Details

Corporate | 31 March 2008 08:00

Aragon AG publishes preliminary figures for 2007 – Impressive confirmation of a successful growth strategy

ARAGON AG / Preliminary Results

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++ Aragon publishes preliminary figures for 2007:
- Revenue increase of 88.5% compared with previous year to EUR 115.7m
- Rise in EBIT of 186% on the previous year to EUR 9.5m

++ Impressive confirmation of a successful growth strategy

Aragon AG published its preliminary results for financial year 2007 today.
The revenue increase from EUR 61.4m in 2006 to EUR 115.7m in 2007
corresponds to a rise of 88.5% and impressively confirms the success of the
Group’s buy-and-build strategy.

In 2007, the company achieved a year-on-year increase in gross margin of
108% from EUR 17.1m to EUR 35.7m, more than doubling the figure. Thus gross
margin improved by almost 3 percentage points to 30.8% of revenues
(previous year 27.9%).

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in accordance with IFRS came in up
186% from EUR 3.3m to EUR 9.5m, which represents an EBIT margin of 8.2%
(previous year 5.4%). EBIT has therefore almost tripled. This positive
growth is attributable, in particular, to the scalable business model of
Aragon, with the company’s total costs rising at a disproportionately low
rate of 89.4% in relation to gross margin (+108%).

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also
rose significantly to EUR 10.7m (previous year EUR 4.2m), representing an
EBITDA margin of 9.3% (previous year 6.8%).

Earnings per share for financial year 2007 amounted to EUR 0.88 (previous
year EUR 0.32), an increase of 177.5% which corresponds to a Group net
profit after minority interests of EUR 5.5m.

It is particularly pleasing that the positive results were achieved by the
combined effort of all Aragon business units. The Retail Sales unit
continues to be the strongest segment however, partly due to its long
history, and made the most substantial revenue contribution with EUR 78.2m
(previous year EUR 55.7m). In addition, the wholly-owned Aragon subsidiary,
Jung, DMS & Cie. AG, exceeded the EUR 1bn product sales mark for the first
time in 2007. With EBITDA of EUR 7.9m, the Retail Sales unit contributes a
share of around 75% to the Group’s EBITDA.

The EBITDA recorded by the Retail Sales unit would have been EUR 0.5m
higher but for the fact that Aragon subsidiary Inpunkto Finanz GmbH reduced
Group net profit by a loss in this amount. Since it is unlikely that
Inpunkto will break even in the short term, the Management Board of Aragon
has decided to discontinue operations of Inpunkto. The company will be
wound up and will no longer contribute negatively in the future. As a
result, the Aragon Group now exclusively comprises profitable business
units.

The successful performance of the Banking & Banking Services unit also
continued in the first full year since its establishment. On the strength
of its white label services, biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere AG
increased the number of customers to 45,111 as of 31 December 2007
(previous year 21,693) and executed more than 3 million securities orders
in 2007. With EBITDA of EUR 2.7m (previous year kEUR 150), the bank is
already making a substantial contribution to Group net profit.

In line with expectations, the Institutional Sales unit developed
successfully following Aragon’s move in 2007 to increase its shareholding
in Fundmatrix AG to 71%. With a share of only 1.3% of total sales, the
smallest segment’s EBITDA margin of more than 45% represents an above
average contribution to the Group’s earnings position. The division
generated EBITDA of EUR 0.7m.

The Aragon management is highly satisfied with the successful business
performance achieved in 2007 and has put in place the conditions for the
company’s sustained growth in future. The brokerage business has been
further strengthened through the acquisition of the GAMAX broker pools in
Germany and Austria. At the same time, the majority shareholding in the
Compexx Finanz Group has provided Aragon with a significant presence in the
market for structured sales.

For 2008, the Management Board expects the company to continue on its
successful growth course, with a progressive level of diversification. In
2008, growth will be driven especially by regulatory changes and the
introduction of a new capital gains tax. The Management Board will closely
monitor developments at the newly acquired Compexx Group. The structured
sales market is undergoing a specific process of change, which represents
considerable opportunities for Aragon.

The company’s annual report will be published on 15 April 2008.

The Annual General Meeting of Aragon AG will be held in Mainz, Germany on
2 June 2008.

++ About Aragon AG

Aragon is a broad diversified financial distribution company, with the
divisions: Retail Sales, Institutional Sales and Banking & Banking
Services. Aragon is active on the marketplace with multiple independent
subsidiaries. The company’s aim is to integrate various distribution models
under one roof, without disturbing the individual identity of each sales
company. The result is a wide diversification across various asset classes
and distribution types, which generates a high stability in corporate
earnings. Further information about the company and its subsidiaries can be
viewed on the website: www.aragon-ag.com.

Contact:
Aragon Aktiengesellschaft
Achim Pfeffer
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +49(0)611 890 575-574
Fax: +49(0)611 890 575-99
E-Mail: achim.pfeffer@aragon-ag.de

31.03.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP