artnet AG — Earnings Release 2010

Jul 30, 2010

News Details

Corporate | 30 July 2010 06:29

artnet AG: SUCCESS FOR ONLINE ART AUCTIONS

artnet AG / Half Year Results/Half Year Results

30.07.2010 06:29

Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by
DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

---

ARTNET AG: SUCCESS FOR ONLINE ART AUCTIONS

artnet AG announced in their 2010 Six-Month Report that the internet
platform tripled its auctions revenue within the past twelve months. Sales
for conventional auctions were nearly cut in half during the same time
period as they were more affected by the economic crisis. According to
artnet's CEO Hans Neuendorf, these figures not only show that online art
auctions are well-accepted by the audience, but - due to obvious advantages
- also point towards a fundamental shift within the art market towards
buying and selling online.

At first glance, the half-yearly figures of artnet AG seem unremarkable as
they are only up slightly. The good news, which could generally be derived
from that, would be: in the difficult market environment following the
crisis, artnet performed well. While the most important brick and mortar
auction houses had to endure a decline in sales of up to 50%, and business
for galleries remained difficult, the revenue downturn at artnet was only
1%. Moreover, it did not affect the core products Price Database and
Gallery Network, but rather advertising sales.

The most interesting numbers, however, occurred in the online auctions
division. Launched in 2008, artnet Auctions, a product designed for
auctioning works of art on the internet, stood out with an increased
revenue of 213% in Euro (211% in USD). This growth is largely due to a
higher sales volume, as well as a rise of the average lot price to about
USD 5,000. Top lots even achieved winning bids of over USD 100,000. To
date, the most expensive artwork sold on artnet Auctions is a work by the
American artist Richard Prince, which changed hands for USD 330,000. Other
figures further support this positive trend: The average amount spent per
buyer increased by 83%, compared to the respective period last year, and
the number of buyers who purchased more than one artwork on artnet Auctions
increased by 173%.

The figures demonstrate that online auctions are becoming more and more
popular with the public. According to Hans Neuendorf, the advantages are
clear: 'Compared to traditional auction houses, costs are low. Also, buyers
and sellers do not need to wait for a particular auction for half a year.'

artnet Auctions customers come from 85 countries, from Argentina to the
United Arab Emirates, the majority from the US and Europe. In 2009, the
international art auction market had a volume of around five billion USD.

'artnet is in the process of steadily increasing its market share,' adds
Hans Neuendorf. 'The art market will shift towards online auctions.'

For further information, please contact:

Marie-Kathrin Krimphoff artnet AG Oranienstraße 164 10969 Berlin
+49-30-20917840 MKrimphoff@artnet.de

About artnet:

artnet is the leading provider of art market information on the Internet
and also offers a trading platform for works of art. artnet's products
result in transparency and speed for the global art market. In addition,
they give customers an information advantage, which saves them time and
money when buying and selling works of art, increasing customers trust in
the market.

mkrimphoff@artnet.de

30.07.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Press Release distributed by DGAP.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

---

Language: English
Company: artnet AG
Oranienstraße 164
10969 Berlin
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)30 20 91 78 -0
Fax: +49 (0)30 20 91 78 -29
E-mail: info@artnet.de
Internet: www.artnet.de
ISIN: DE0006909500
WKN: 690950
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart

End of News DGAP News-Service

---