Grenke AG — Earnings Release 2007

Apr 3, 2007

News Details

Ad-hoc | 3 April 2007 08:30

GRENKELEASING AG: New business in first quarter of 2007

GRENKELEASING AG / Miscellaneous/Miscellaneous

Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by
DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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• Increase in new business of the GRENKE Group by 7 %
• Contribution Margin 2 of new business of the GRENKE Group reaches EUR
  16.2 million

Baden-Baden, April 3, 2007: In the first quarter of 2007, the GRENKE Group
(incl. franchise partners) generated a volume of new business – i.e. the
sum total of acquisition costs of newly purchased leasing assets and
factoring volume – amounting to EUR 123.2 million (Q1-2006: EUR 115.2
million). Compared with an exceptionally strong quarter a year earlier, the
level of growth of new business generated, amounting to 7 % year-on-year,
is encouraging. The main growth drivers were the ongoing good development
of the foreign markets and the positive expansion of the factoring business
in Germany. In the first quarter (as had already been the case in the third
quarter of the previous year), our business in Germany was considerably
impacted by the discussion surrounding taxes being imposed on leasing
instalments within the scope of the tax reform.

New business from leasing and factoring volumes in EUR million

                                      Q1 2007     Q1 2006     % change

GRENKE Group* 123.2 115.2 7
GRENKE Group Leasing Division** 112.7 115.2 - 2
GRENKE Group International* 47.8 40.3 19
GRENKE Group Germany* 75.4 74.9 1
Franchise business 23.2 5.1 349
Factoring (Germany) 10.5 - n.a.

* incl. franchise partners ** excl. factoring

Growth of the international business of the GRENKE Group was up by 19 %
year-on-year and contributed a share of 39 % (previous year: 35 %) to the
new business contracted by the GRENKE Group. The contribution margin 2
(CM2) outperformed international growth of new business, reaching 29 %
year-on-year. Encouraging factors were the very positive development in
France and the fact that the international business is meanwhile being
supported by a total of five countries, with each expected to report a
volume of new business in excess of EUR 10 million for the year as a whole.
Due to personnel-related bottlenecks in Switzerland, new business in that
country declined but the CM 2 was also raised by 6 %.

New business from leasing by foreign markets in EUR million

                                     Q1 2007    Q1 2006     % change

France 24.2 21.4 13
Switzerland 3.6 4.7 - 22
Italy 3.2 0.8 278
Spain 3.2 3.2 -
United Kingdom (franchise partners) 3.1 2.9 7

The CM1 margin of the leasing business of the GRENKE Group (contribution
margin 1 at acquisition value) once again exceeded our target margin of 10%
for the first quarter of 2007, reaching a value of EUR 11.4 million
(Q1-2006 EUR 12 million) for Q1 2007. The corresponding CM 2 reached a
value of EUR 16.1 million and was up by 2 % year-on-year. The CM 2 reflects
the declining volume of new business in Germany, yet on the whole, the
rising profitability of our new business from leasing is discernible.

Development of contribution margin 2 (CM2) in EUR million

                                      Q1 2007    Q1 2006    % change

GRENKE Group* 16.2 15.8 3
GRENKE Group Leasing Division** 16.1 15.8 2
GRENKE Group International* 7.2 5.6 29
GRENKE Group Germany* 9 10.2 - 12
Franchise business 1.4 0.6 144
France 3.8 3.2 17
Switzerland 0.8 0.7 6
Italy 0.5 0.1 452
Spain 0.4 0.3 13
United Kingdom (franchise partners) 0.4 0.3 12

* incl. franchise partners ** excl. factoring

The margin (turnover/factoring volume) in relation to the factoring volume
of EUR 10.5 million amounts to 2.3 %.

In the first quarter of 2007, the GRENKE Group recorded 30,039 leasing
inquiries (ex Germany 13,949) and of which 14,645 new leasing contracts (ex
Germany 6,488) were generated. The average value per contract concluded
came to approx. EUR 7,695 and is thus slightly higher than in the previous
year (2006: EUR 7,597).

The company will publish its detailed three months’ report for 2007 on
April 26, 2007.

The Executive Board

Should you have any queries, please contact:

Renate Hauss

Tel.: 0049 -7221/5007-204
Fax: 0049-7221/5007-112
E-mail: investor@grenkeleasing.de
Internet: http://www.grenkeleasing.de

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Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News:

'We are satisfied with a growth rate of 7 % in the GRENKE Group compared
with an exceptionally strong same quarter in the previous year and in a
difficult environment in Germany.

The development of our primary controlling measure, contribution margin 2,
is encouraging. It reflects the overall profitability of our new business
and has improved, both in absolute and relative terms compared with the
volume of new leasing business, in a market that remains impacted by
pressure on margins. This shows that in terms of our control via
contribution margin 2, we are on the right track to ongoing, profitable
growth.

The development of our European markets outside Germany shows that the
strategy of a pan-European approach is the correct one to follow.
Contribution Margin 2 of our foreign operations was up in all countries
year-on-year and has improved by 29 % for the international market as a
whole. The product development strategy through ongoing good development of
our factoring business in Germany is also starting to bear fruit', said Dr.
Uwe Hack, CFO of GRENKELEASING AG, in explaining the results.

The GRENKE Group (incl. franchise partners) now operates in sixteen
European countries.

The GRENKELEASING AG Group (excluding franchise partners) is represented in
20 German cities. In addition to seven branches in France and three in
Switzerland, the enterprise operates with subsidiaries in Austria, Italy,
Czechia, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and Belgium.

In the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Hungary as well as in Germany in the
field of car leasing and factoring, GRENKELEASING has a franchise system in
place.

GRENKELEASING offers contracts predominantly in the field of small-ticket
IT leasing for such products as PCs, notebooks, copiers, printers or
software of a relatively low asset value. GRENKELEASING AG is listed on the
Prime Standard of Frankfurt's Securities Exchange and is part of the
SDAX.

DGAP 03.04.2007

Language: English
Issuer: GRENKELEASING AG
Neuer Markt 2
76532 Baden-Baden Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)7221 50 07-204
Fax: +49 (0)7221 50 07-112
E-mail: investor@grenkeleasing.de
www: www.grenkeleasing.de
ISIN: DE0005865901
WKN: 586590
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin-Bremen, Stuttgart, München, Düsseldorf, Hamburg

End of News DGAP News-Service

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