Corporate | 25 May 2005 11:00

ARQUES Industries AG publishes report on the first quarter of 2005

Corporate-news transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— ARQUES publishes report on the first quarter of 2005 Sharp rise in revenues and profits Starnberg, May 25, 2005 – ARQUES Industries AG (ISIN DE0005156004), the Starnberg-based equity investment company, today published its report on the first quarter of 2005. The interim report is available for download in PDF format on http://www.arques.de from now on. Consolidated revenues jumped 412.0% to EUR72.7 million compared with EUR14.2 million in the first quarter of 2004. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled EUR3.9 million after EUR0.1 million in the same period last year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improved to EUR2.5 million, up from a loss of EUR0.5 million over the equivalent period in 2004. Consolidated net profit for the quarter amounted to EUR2.4 million compared with a net loss of EUR0.6 million. Thus earnings per share reached EUR1.13 for the first quarter after -EUR0.35 in the equivalent quarter last year. Shareholders’ equity improved from EUR53.2 million at December 31, 2004 to EUR55.5 million, helping to boost the equity capital ratio from 37.5% at December 31, 2004 to 38.3%. Cash and cash equivalent rose to EUR15.1 million after EUR12.9 million at December 31, 2004, whilst operating cash flow totalled EUR5.9 million. For the first time, the figures include the revenues and earnings of Colordruck Pforzheim GmbH & Co. KG. The ddp Group has also been initially consolidated at January 1, 2005. The three new acquisitions reported by ARQUES in 2005 – SKS Stakusit Bautechnik GmbH, Johler Druck GmbH and Jahnel- Kestermann Getriebewerke GmbH & Co. KG – did not take place until the second quarter. Hence they are not included in the figures for the first quarter. The company is currently preparing to apply for the ARQUES share to be listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The figures for the first quarter of 2005 were therefore subject to a limited review by the company’s external auditor. “The ARQUES Group again succeeded to buck the economic trend in the first quarter of 2005 by growing strongly. We made good progress in terms of restructuring of our subsidiaries, successfully completing the restructuring phase in the three companies we acquired in the fourth quarter of 2004 – E. Missel GmbH & Co. KG, Colordruck Pforzheim and the ddp Group”, comments Dr. Dr. Peter Löw, the Chairman of the Executive Board of ARQUES Industries AG. “Now we can concentrate on boosting sales and refining the respective business models.” ARQUES Industries AG ( http://www.arques.de ) specialises in the acquisition and development of corporate spin-offs and companies in transitional situations. The Starnberg-based equity investment company buys companies on the basis of net asset valuations, before restructuring them under its own managers and with the help of a task force comprising specialist in-house consultants. Measures concerning active management and development range from revising the product portfolio and enhancing operations to boost efficiency through to implementing new technologies. The shares of ARQUES Industries AG are traded on the OTC market under the code “AQU” (ISIN: DE0005156004). Contact: ARQUES Investor Relations +49 (0) 8151 – 651 0 End of announcement (c)DGAP 25.05.2005 —————————————————————————— WKN: 515600 ; ISIN: DE0005156004; Index: Listed: Freiverkehr in Frankfurt, Berlin, München und Stuttgart 251100 Mai 05