LAIQON AG — Earnings Release 2007

Aug 8, 2007

News Details

Corporate | 8 August 2007 21:58

Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft: RECORD PLACEMENT FIGURES ACHIEVED IN THE FIRST HALF

Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft / Half Year Results/Change of Personnel

Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory
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• Equity placements of EUR 294 million
• Michael F. Seidel appointed new CFO
• Impairment loss from US real estate exerting pressure on first-half
earnings
• Full-year earnings guidance of EUR 20 million for 2007 confirmed – equity
placement forecast increased to EUR 450-470 million

Hamburg, August 8, 2007. Lloyd Fonds’ figures for the first half of 2007
testify to the success of the company’s growth and diversification
strategy. Thus, in the first six months of the year, a whole series of
attractive new investment products were launched on the market, causing
equity placements to rise by almost 50% to EUR 294 million. This marks the
best-ever figure in the company’s history. At the same time, sales expanded
by 14% year on year to EUR 48.5 million. At EUR 7.0 million, consolidated
profit fell short of the projected figure of EUR 8.5 million. However, this
was due to an impairment loss sustained in connection with a US real estate
portfolio. Even so, the company remains on track towards meeting its
full-year guidance for 2007 as it has raised its equity placement forecast
for the entire year on the strength of the excellent placement figures for
the first half of 2007.

Michael F. Seidel appointed chief financial officer (CFO) – Holger Schmitz
to leave the management board
Lloyd Fonds AG has gained in Michael F. Seidel (48) a new CFO, who will be
commencing his duties on September 1, 2007. Effective August 31, 2007,
Holger Schmitz (40), who has been a member of Lloyd Fonds AG’s management
board since 2004 first with responsibility for finance and then for
products and product designing, will be leaving the management board at his
own request.
With a degree in business administration, Michael F. Seidel comes from the
Hamburg-based Max Bahr Group, where he has held the position of managing
director/CFO since 2002. Prior to this, he was director of group finance at
mail order company Otto Versand Group. 'We are gaining in Michael F. Seidel
a proven and very experienced financial expert,' says Prof. Dr. Eckart
Kottkamp, chairman of Lloyd Fonds AG’s supervisory board. 'In his function
as the company’s CFO, he will also be responsible for financing and
controlling the associated entities which Lloyd Fonds has established or
plans to establish.'
In the future, Holger Schmitz will remain with Lloyd Fonds AG as managing
director of the open-end ship fund LF Open Waters OP, among other things.
Says CEO Dr. Torsten Teichert: 'Over the past seven years, Holger Schmitz
has played an important role in Lloyd Fonds AG’s very favorable development
and made a crucial contribution to its success. We regret his decision to
leave the management board.'
Looking forward, Lloyd Fonds AG’s management board will now comprise Dr.
Torsten Teichert with responsibility for strategy, products and business
development, Dr. Marcus Simon, who will remain in charge of retailing,
trusteeship activities and secondary-market business, and Michael Seidel,
who will oversee the now broader area of finance and controlling.

Consolidated profit for the first half dragged down by impairment loss -
full-year guidance confirmed
Despite the increased placement volumes, earnings were down on the previous
year. One of the reasons for this is that a part of the income generated by
'Lloyd Fonds Schiffsportfolio II' arose in the design phase and, hence, in
the previous year. Moreover, impairment loss incurred in connection with
the US condominiums took its toll on Lloyd Fonds’ consolidated profit for
the period. Despite the positive ongoing contribution to earnings made by
the real estate holdings, the impairment loss arose as a result of the weak
US dollar and the situation in the US real estate market. At the same time,
ongoing recruitment, which is crucial for Lloyd Fonds’ expansion, and the
resultant increase in personnel expenses left traces on costs.
'By recognizing the impairment loss, we are reacting to the sustained
weakness of the US dollar and the situation currently afflicting the real
estate market despite the positive contribution to earnings. However, this
exceptional item does not impede our full-year earnings guidance for 2007,'
says Dr. Torsten Teichert, commenting on the company’s earnings performance
in the first half of the year. 'On a positive note, there was a substantial
63% year-on-year increase in non-issuing income.' This entails recurring
income from trusteeship and management activities as well as income from
asset play, i.e. buying and selling of ships. According to Teichert, Lloyd
Fonds capabilities are to be reinforced in the future via a subsidiary
which will be responsible for trading in the secondary market for
closed-end funds. 'Moreover, looking forward, new forms of investments will
be playing an increasingly important role for Lloyd Fonds, allowing it to
tap new target groups such as institutional investors,' says Dr. Teichert,
explaining the company’s expansion plans. A truly innovative investment
product is the world’s first open-end ship fund which was launched in
December. A newly established subsidiary of Lloyd Fonds AG in Singapore is
managing the ships held in this fund.

Numerous attractive investment products
The highlights of the first half of the year included the first aircraft
fund investing in the Airbus A-340-600 Emmeline and the largest ship fund
ever initiated by Lloyd Fonds. 'With our aircraft fund, we have returned to
an asset class which had been neglected for a long time,' says Dr. Marcus
Simon, COO Sales and Marketing at Lloyd Fonds AG. In addition, 'Lloyd Fonds
Schiffsportfolio II' was placed within a short period of time.
With equity placements totaling EUR 13 million in Austria in the first half
of 2007, geographic diversification also proved to be very encouraging. The
open-end ship fund 'LF Open Waters OP' benefited from continued strong
demand for ship investments, contributing EUR 50 million to placement
volumes in the first half of the year. Other new investment products
launched in the second quarter included 'BLK VII', a further fund
comprising traded UK endowment policies with an equity volume of up to EUR
25 million. With an equity volume of EUR 28 million being invested in two
new hotel complexes, 'Immobilienportfolio Hamburg-Sylt' was also initiated.
These funds supplement the existing array of products investing in real
estate, ships, private equity and traded endowment policies. Retailing of
'Lloyd Fonds Schiffsportfolio III', which has an equity volume of EUR 74
million, was also commenced at the beginning of August. 'This follow-up
product shows how important it is to have a steady flow of new assets in
the pipeline,' says Dr. Simon. Further products in several asset classes
are currently being prepared.

Full-year consolidated profit of EUR 20 million expected – equity placement
forecast raised to EUR 450-470 million for 2007 as a whole
On the strength of the favourable distribution success achieved in the
first half of the year in tandem with the favorable outlook, Lloyd Fonds
now forecasts an increase in full-year equity placements to around EUR
450-470 million. As a result, it is still on track towards achieving
consolidated profit for the year of EUR 20 million in spite of the
impairment loss incurred.

Key financials of Lloyd Fonds AG (Group) as of June 30, 2007 in EUR
millions

                    H1     H1                Q2       Q2
                   2007   2006    Delta     2007    2006   Delta

Sales 48.5 42.4 +14.3% 27.3 10.9 +149.6%
Non-issuing
income 9.3 5.7 +63.0% 3.8 4.2 -11.0%
EBIT 9.2 10.4 -11.5% 4.0 3.5 +13.8%
Consolidated profit for
the period 7.0 8.5 -17.3% 2.9 3.5 -15.5%
Return on sales 14.5% 20.1% -5.6P% 10.8% 31.9% -21.1P%
EBIT margin 19.0% 24.6% -5.6P% 14.8% 32.4% -17.6P%
Earnings per share(EUR) 0.56 0.67 -17.1% 0.23 0.27 -14.8%
Equity
placements 294 197 +49.2% 178 44 +304.5%
Anzahl der Anleger
kumuliert 40.669 27.640

Balance sheet 30.06.2007 30.06.2006 Delta
Total 99.4 95.9 +3.7%
Shareholders’ equity 71.8 69.9 +2.8%
Equity ratio 72.3% 72.9% -0.6P%

Employees H1 H1 Q2 Q2
2007 2006 Delta 2007 2006 Delta
Headcount (average) 121 90 +33.9% 126 93 35.5%
Personnel expense 6.4 4.4 +44.3% 3.5 2.3 51.5%
Personnel expense ratio 13.2% 10.5% +2.7P% 12.8% 21.1% -8.3P%

Contact:
Dr. Goetz Schlegtendal
Lloyd Fonds AG
Amelungstraße 8-10
20354 Hamburg
Tel: +49-40-325678-0
Fax: +49-40-325678-99
Mail: ir@lloydfonds.de

DGAP 08.08.2007

Language: English
Issuer: Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft
Amelungstr. 8-10
20354 Hamburg
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)40 32 56 78-0
Fax: +49 (0)40 32 56 78-99
E-mail: info@lloydfonds.de
Internet: www.lloydfonds.de
ISIN: DE0006174873
WKN: 617487
Indices:
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in
Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart

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