ASBIS Shows Dynamic Growth of Sales and Financial Performance in Q1 2008

ASBISc Enterprises Plc, a leading distributor of IT products on fast growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East and North Africa, in Q1 2008 generated sales revenue of over USD 360m (up by 38.9%) and the profit of USD 5.5m which translates into an over three times increase over the similar period in 2007. EBITDA stood at USD 9.4m, indicating a 155.6% increase over the figure in Q1 2007.

Principal events of Q1 2008:

- Revenues increased by 38.9% to USD 360.08m up from USD 259.23m in the corresponding period of 2007.
- Gross profit increased by 84.4% to USD 21.67m from USD 11.75m in the corresponding period of 2007. The gross profit margin increased to 6% compared to 4.5% in the corresponding period of 2007.
- EBITDA increased by 155.6% to USD 9.42m from USD 3.69m in the corresponding period of 2007. EBITDA margin was 2.6% compared to 1.4% in the corresponding period of 2007.
- Net profit after taxation almost tripled to USD 5.53m from USD 1.86m in the corresponding period of 2007.
- Earnings per share more than doubled to USD 0.0996 from USD 0.0388 in the corresponding period of 2007.
 
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN Q1 2008

Detailed financial performance of the ASBIS Group in Q1 2008 is as follows:

Q1 2008 was characterised by high growth in financial performance compared to Q1 2007. This was primarily affected by the dynamic growth in sales for the period:

- Revenue from sale of central processing units (“CPUs”) increased by 34.7% comparing to the corresponding period of 2007, increasing sales of CPUs to USD 95.67m.
- Revenue from sale of software (Microsoft) increased by 230% comparing to the corresponding period of 2007, increasing sales of software to USD 54.84m.
- Revenue from sale of laptops increased by 255.9% comparing to the corresponding period of 2007, increasing sales of laptops to USD 45.24m.
- Revenues from our private labels, Canyon and Prestigio, increased by 18.1% to USD 21.11m form USD 17.89m in the corresponding period of 2007.
- Revenue from sale of hard disk drives (“HDDs”) decreased by 6.1% comparing to the corresponding period of 2007, although we sold more units due to price erosion of HDDs.

Our gross profit margin (gross profit as a percentage of revenues) improved to 6% in the three months ended 31 March 2008, compared to 4.5% in the corresponding period of 2007. This increase in gross profit margin was mainly a result of improved product mix and  increased sales and margin of software and laptops.

"Dynamic growth in our financial performance in Q1 2008 reflects consistent execution of our strategy and development of operations in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union where we are one of the key players. We believe that these are very promising markets with good prospects where we expect growth in the demand for our products. In the near future, we are also expecting improvements in the export regulations governing imports, among others on the Russian and Ukrainian markets, which will have a positive impact on the demand for our products", said Siarhei Kostevitch, ASBIS CEO.

For additional information, please contact:

Ms Magda Kołodziejczyk, M+G
Tel. +48 (22) 625 71 40, +48 501 16 88 07
e-mail: magda.kolodziejczyk/at/mplusg.com.pl

Mr Costas Tziamalis, ASBISc Enterprises PLC, Investor Relations
tel. +00 357 25 857 000
e-mail: costas/at/asbis.com

For more information, visit also the company's website at www.asbis.com

ASBISc Enterprises Plc is based in Cyprus and specializes in the distribution of computer hardware components, blocks and peripherals, and a wide range of IT products and digital equipment. Established in 1995, the company has a presence in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, the former USSR, Middle East, and North Africa.

The Group distributes products of many vendors and manufactures and sells private-label products: Prestigio (LCD monitors, laptops, external storage, leather-coated USB accessories, GPS devices, etc.) and Canyon (MP3 players, networking products and other peripheral devices).

ASBIS has own subsidiaries in 25 countries, more than 900 employees and 20000 customers. The Group’s revenues reached almost US$ 1.4 billion in 2007, the net profit was US$ 18.7 million, and EBITDA was US$ 27.6 million.

The company’s stocks have been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since October 2007 under the ticker symbol ASB (ASBIS).

The complete Interim Report for Q1'2008 is available for download in English and Polish from Financial Reports page.