METabolic EXplorer — Earnings Release 2009

Feb 18, 2010

METabolic EXplorer fourth quarter 2009 activity update.

The company, whose industrial pilot is now in operation, has all it needs to confidently continue ramping up its industrial and commercial activity.

Clermont-Ferrand, February 18th 2010. METabolic Explorer, a green chemistry company that specializes in the development of bioprocesses for the production of chemical compounds used in a wide range of everyday products (paints, solvents, animal feed supplements, adhesives, textile fibres, resorbable surgical thread, etc.), today issued an update on its fourth-quarter 2009 business activity.

Financial highlights

Turnover (IFRS) – in k€	2009	2008
st quarter 1	0	15
nd quarter 2	900	1 015
rd quarter 3	0	900
th quarter 4	600	1 290
Annual turnover	1 500	3 220

In 2009 METabolic EXplorer generated turnover of €1.5 million, comprised exclusively of license revenues for the Glycolic Acid and L-Methionine processes developed under partnership agreements.

METabolic EXplorer notes that the turnover figure at this stage is not representative of corporate value, and is fairly changeable from one accounting period to another as the figure almost exclusively comprises licence revenues for the two processes developed under partnership agreements and which are subject to a contractual payments schedule.

The schedule is based on advancing towards and achieving certain key project development stages in all phases, from R&D to mass production and marketing. For the record, these two products are currently in the pre-industrial pilot stage with our partner and application tests are already underway. Obviously, to safeguard confidentiality agreements, METabolic EXplorer will announce future developments at the time of each significant advance.

Industrial highlights

The industrial pilot was launched at year-end and saw the start of initial fermentation for PDO, one of the three proprietary products developed by METabolic EXplorer. This pilot, which has a production capacity of several tens of metric tons, will continuously interconnect the different production stages, from the initial bacterial strain to the finished product. It is this finished product that will be supplied to manufacturers in the form of samples, so that they can in turn begin their own testing and application approvals processes.

All METabolic EXplorer products, whether own-account products or developed in partnership, have now entered the pre-industrial pilot phase, with the exception of PDO, which is at a more advanced stage in terms of tests, as it has entered the industrial pilot phase.

Commercial highlights

As announced at year-end, METabolic EXplorer is actively continuing its discussions to launch its first joint venture, and although the important stages completed to date now make it possible to consider a first agreement, the lessons learned from recent talks must be factored in, as they reinforce the company's sense of the importance of continuing talks without precipitation in order to guarantee the best value for its technology.

the key stages for reaching an initial agreement have now been completed, there are still major conditions that to date have not been satisfied for finalising this undertaking.

However, the company now has all the resources it needs to finalize the industrialisation of its bioprocesses and so actively move closer to its markets at both economic and commercial levels. The competitive benefits of its solutions are becoming clearer and product samples are being tested on the most advanced of its projects, PDO. The initial results make it possible to confidently continue ongoing discussions, with the imperative of guaranteeing long-term value for shareholders, even in a tense business climate.

METabolic EXplorer also notes that in addition to the objective of signing a first standout agreement, the option of own-account development is still on the cards. For METEX, the aim is to lock in the means of guaranteeing maximum control over its industrial and commercial development.

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About METabolic EXplorer - www.metabolic-explorer.com

METabolic EXplorer is a biological chemistry company which was incorporated in 1999. Its goal is to help industrial businesses deal with the heralded "end of oil", so that they can continue to manufacture but in a sustainable way.

Based on the tried and tested principle of industrial fermentation, METabolic Explorer's solutions circumvent the problems posed by today's burdensome and expensive petrochemical processes via the use of a wide range of renewable, sustainable raw materials. By optimizing the metabolic yield of non-pathogenic bacteria in a contained, controlled environment, the company facilitates the production of chemical compounds used in a wide range of everyday goods (paints, solvents, adhesives and textile fibres) and industrial products (such as surgical thread and animal feed).

METabolic EXplorer is currently focusing its alternative biological solutions (implemented by the development of renewable, fermentation-based bioprocesses) on the production of five compounds that together have an estimated, annual, end-market value of €11 billion. The company's strategy will be implemented worldwide via limited-exclusivity industrial alliances and joint-ventures with key players in the chemicals industry.

METabolic Explorer, based in Clermont-Ferrand, France, is listed on EURONEXT PARIS (EURONEXT C, METEX) and features in the SBF 250 and CAC Small 90 indexes.

Get free financial information on METabolic EXplorer by registering with www.metabolic-explorer.com or www.actus-finance.com.

Media and shareholder contacts

ATTITUDE Corporate

Eric de Lambert E-mail: edelambert@attitude-corporate.com Tel.: +33 (0)1 4970 4341 / +33 (0)6 2529 0658

Emmanuelle Lapeyre E-mail: elapeyre@attitude-corporate.com Tel.: +33 (0)1 4970 4343 / +33 (0)6 1588 6209

Investor and analyst contacts

Actus Finance Jérôme Fabreguettes-Leib Email: jfl@actus.fr Tel.: +33 (0)1 7735 0436

This communication includes forward-looking information which is subject to risks and uncertainties. The potential development of the company could be substantially different from that anticipated in this press release because of the various risk factors which are described in the company's Listing Prospectus.