LAIQON AG — Earnings Release 2007

May 23, 2007

News Details

Corporate | 23 May 2007 07:30

Lloyd Fonds reporting a dynamic start to 2007

Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft / Quarter Results

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• Strong demand for new aircraft fund as well as ship funds
• Placement figures as of mid May well up on the previous year
• Construction order for at least four 12,800 TEU container ships
• Full-year guidance for 2007 confirmed

Hamburg, May 23, 2007. Lloyd Fonds got off to a very successful start in
2007 with a highly successful first quarter. All the interim targets set
for this period were achieved or even exceeded. The new products have met
with an even greater response on the part of subscribers than originally
expected. The highlights of the quarter were the largest ship fund to date
in the Company’s history and its first aircraft fund.

Sales in the first quarter of 2007 came to EUR 21.2 million, roughly one
third down on the same period in 2006 (EUR 31.5 million) for
cutoff-date-related reasons. Net profit for the period exceeded EUR 4
million (2006: EUR 5 million). At the same time, the share of non-issuing
income from asset and trusteeship management activities continued to climb.
As of mid May 2007, equity placements for the year to date came to EUR 250
million, i.e. roughly EUR 60 million higher than in the same period in
2006.

In the first quarter of 2007, Lloyd Fonds AG started marketing the largest
ever ship fund in its history, 'Lloyd Fonds Schiffsportfolio II', which it
had structured for Deutsche Bank AG. This fleet fund is investing in six
container ships in three different size classes. With an investment volume
of around USD 516 million, this is one of the largest closed-end ship funds
ever. With equity of USD 180 million, 'Lloyd Fonds Schiffsportfolio II' had
already been placed by the middle of the second quarter. Whereas
'Schiffsportfolio I' – which was also marketed exclusively by Deutsche Bank
– was placed in full in the first quarter of 2006, placement activities for
this second, larger fund for Deutsche Bank extended over two quarters.
Accordingly, the figures for this fund are spread over both periods.

In the first quarter of 2007, Lloyd Fonds placed equity of EUR 116 million,
including EUR 88 million in closed-end ship funds and EUR 28 million in
other products. Thus, although placement volumes were roughly EUR 37
million down on the year-ago quarter, they exceeded the figure for the
fourth quarter of 2006 by some EUR 45 million. This momentum in the growth
of placement volumes is continuing unabated in the second quarter of 2007.

Successful diversification

The interest shown by Lloyd Fonds’ retail partners and the general public
in the 'Emmeline' aircraft fund announced in January 2007 has been
extremely encouraging. This fund is investing just under USD 120 million in
a wide-body A340-600 Airbus. Of this, a sum of USD 50 million is being
placed as equity. Via this fund, subscribers will be able to take part in
the high-growth air travel market for the first time in many years.

Explains Dr. Torsten Teichert, CEO of Lloyd Fonds AG: 'With
Schiffsportfolio I and the Emmeline aircraft fund, we launched two
extremely attractive products in the first quarter, which have met with
great response. The aircraft fund once again demonstrates our skills as a
first mover. The results testify to the success and sustainability of our
growth and diversification strategy.'

The diversification process is progressing swiftly. The aircraft fund is to
be followed in summer 2007 with the first 'Premium Portfolio', a further
innovative new product. Structured as a fund of funds, this new product
will provide subscribers with an opportunity of investing in different
asset classes at the same time.

Growth course continuing outside Germany as well

Lloyd Fonds has reinforced its presence with wholly owned subsidiaries in
Austria and Singapore in order to strengthen its marketing resources in a
key foreign market and to further extend its expense in a crucial sourcing
region. In the first quarter, Lloyd Fonds AG bought the 49 percent share
held by Allgemeiner Versicherungsdienst Gesellschaft mbH (AVD) in the
hitherto jointly owned retail company Lloyd Fonds Austria in Vienna. In
Singapore, it established a subsidiary known as Lloyd Fonds Singapore Pte.
Ltd. 'We opted for Singapore, as it offers direct access to one of the
leading and fastest-growing regions in the ship finance market,' says Dr.
Torsten Teichert, explaining the reasons for this step.
This subsidiary offers management services for merchant ships and
forms part of Lloyd Fonds’ diversification strategy. Via this new
subsidiary, Lloyd Fonds will gain even better access to the growing Asian
ship market and benefit from local contacts.

Successful first quarter confirming full-year guidance for 2007

On the strength of its successful business performance in the first three
months of 2007, Lloyd Fonds is still on track to achieving the unchanged
targets described in the annual report for 2006. Accordingly, full-year
equity placements are to rise by 40 percent year on year to around EUR 420
million. Net profit of at least EUR 20 million is expected for this year,
with the share of non-issuing income from trustee and asset management
activities to be widened on a sustained basis to ensure stable earnings
growth.

In order to additionally feed its product pipeline, Lloyd Fonds ordered
four 3,600 TEU container ships in China in conjunction with shipping
company NSC Schifffahrtsgesellschaft in April. These are the first ships in
this size category fitted with on-board cranes. In May of this year, Lloyd
Fonds signed the contract for the construction of four 12,800 TEU
containers ships. These are currently amongst the world’s largest container
ships and are scheduled for delivery in 2010 by Hanjin-Philippines. There
is a call option for a further four ships in this size class. Similarly,
negotiations are currently ongoing for further projects in the real estate
and aircraft asset classes.

Key financials of Lloyd Fonds AG (Group) in EUR millions

(in EUR million) Q1 2007 Q1 2006 DELTA

Sales 21.2 31.5 -32.7%
Non-issuing income 6.3 1.5 325,7%
EBIT in EUR million 4.6 6.9 -33.9%
Consolidated profit for the period 4.1 5.0 -18.5%
Return on sales 19.3% 16.0% 3.3 pp
EBIT margin 21.5% 21.9% -0.4 pp
Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.32 0.40 -20.0%
Equity placements 116 153 -24.2%

Balance sheet 31/3/2007 31/3/2006 Delta

Total 138.4 116.1 19.2%
Shareholders’ equity 84.7 80.3 5.5%
Equity ratio 61.2% 69.1% -7.9 pp

Employees Q1 2007 Q1 2006 Delta

Average headcount 115 88 30.7%
Personnel expenses 2.9 2.1 36.5%
Personnel cost ratio 10.1% 6.8% 3.3P%

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 23.05.2007

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
www: www.lloydfonds.de
ISIN: DE0006174873
WKN: 617487
Indices:
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in
Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart

End of News DGAP News-Service

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