Heading towards the target

· Equity under Management increased by NOK 3 billion
· NOK 700 million in proposed dividends to clients invested in direct
investments
· Recurring revenues now cover 108% of fixed costs and 93% of fixed
and activity-based costs
· The strategic alliance with Wunderlich in the US has highlighted the
synergy potential between the organisations. Several new mandates within
Corporate Finance in pipeline.
· The group is experiencing a good recruiting position
· EBITDA of NOK 1 million and EBIT of NOK -4 million
The Agasti Group achieved an operating income of NOK -4 million in the
quarter, compared with NOK -41 million in the equivalent quarter of
2012. The result continues to be influenced by costs resulting from the
comprehensive efforts within the Capital Markets and Investment
Management business areas. In the long-term, these efforts will generate
significant additional revenues and contribute to improved
profitability. The new business model is already having the desired
effects, and the operating income has also been improved compared with
the fourth quarter of 2012, which ended at NOK -12 million.

"We are on the right track, and well on the way towards meeting our
targets. The development of the Group's new platform is going according
to plan, and we are now seeing that synergies are being rendered visible
on several fronts. The ambitions and targets we set for ourselves last
autumn, and which we have since reiterated, remain in place," says
Alfred Ydstebø, Chief Executive Officer of Agasti Holding ASA.

"During the first quarter the new organisation has seriously taken
shape. Within the two newly-developed business areas Capital Markets and
Investment Management in particular, a significant amount of time has
been invested in developing a successful collaboration between the
business units in the Group and establishing solid relations within the
markets in which the Agasti Group operates. We can already see that this
is starting to give good results," says Ydstebø.

Following the acquisition of Wunderlich Securities AS, the company has
been fully integrated into the Agasti Group. This means that it is now
possible to fully utilise the synergies inherent in the acquisition,
something which has already resulted in several new mandates relating to
M&As and capital raising - both within Norway and the USA.

"The pipeline looks good, and we are working on several concrete
projects that will provide us with good earnings throughout the year. We
have also simultaneously continued to develop the collaboration with the
Wunderlich system in the USA, and even employed both analysts and other
competent staff in order to further strengthen our established
collaboration with Wunderlich's energy team in Houston. We will continue
to develop the important strategic alliance with Wunderlich in the USA
going forward," says Ydstebø.

An increasing number of investor environments and wealthy individuals
desire a dialogue with our recognised fund analysts, and have taken
their share of the extra return this team has managed to create for
clients who follow our recommendations over time.

"Many have recognised the competence of our analysts in Navigea, and
their ability to select funds which provide extra returns for our
clients. First and foremost people want investment advice, but many are
also opting to invest an increasingly greater portion of their assets in
our attractive product range. This secures our position as a leading
player within asset management," says Alfred Ydstebø.

Management company Obligo Investment Management is already seeing
positive financial effects following the takeover of investment
management mandates from ABG Sundal Collier and Swedbank First in
January 2013. However, the most positive development is that as a direct
result of good management, it has been proposed that NOK 700 million be
paid in dividends to the owners of various limited companies within real
estate, shipping, private equity and infrastructure.

"It is extremely satisfying that we can once again deliver solid
dividends to our clients. In the past five years we have paid out a
total of NOK 2.2 billion to our clients. Despite challenges in the wake
of the financial crises, this shows that many of our alternative
investments are managed exceedingly well. With a newly-composed
organisation consisting of some of the market's most talented
individuals within their respective segments, we see a bright future
ahead," says Ydstebø.

The comprehensive restructuring which the Group has undertaken
throughout the past year has highlighted the need to adjust the
competence within the Group. This applies to all business areas, and is
a direct consequence of the fact that the Group has moved into markets
and segments within which it has not had sufficient competence
previously.

The Group is seen as an extremely attractive employer, and has recruited
a number of skilled individuals from the industry within all business
areas.

"From when we changed the Group's direction in the autumn of 2012, by
the end of the first quarter we had recruited 35 new employees, mostly
from recognised financial environments in Norway, as well as those based
in London and the USA. At the same time, we have let around 70 employees
go throughout the last year. The latter is not pleasant, but absolutely
necessary if we are to establish ourselves within the desired markets
and ensure attractive opportunities for our clients, as well as
establish a platform for a profitable company," explains Alfred Ydstebø.

The Agasti Group has developed a concept which clearly sets the
organisation apart from its competitors. In addition to being perhaps
the most attractive independent distributor of selected equity and fixed
income funds, we have established one of the market's most experienced
teams within real estate, shipping and private equity, as well as within
energy through the strategic alliance with Wunderlich's energy team in
Houston.

Through investment management company Obligo Investment Management, the
Agasti Group has become an overall manager of all direct investments
made by clients through the Group. This has enabled the takeover of
investment management mandates from ABG Sundal Collier and Swedbank
First Securities, which also included the acquisition of 12 highly
skilled investment managers within real estate, shipping and private
equity, among other areas.

"The past year has been extremely demanding, but when I look at what we
have managed to establish and the people we have managed to attract
along the way, there is no doubt that the restructuring and
establishment of our new Group has so far been a success. This motivates
the entire organisation. Our expectations and ambitions for the future
remain fixed, and we shall once again move into profitable territory by
the end of 2013," concludes Alfred Ydstebø.

A complete English version of the interim report of the 1st quarter is
attached on www.newsweb.no and on Agasti's Investor Relations web pages
www.agasti.no.

Contact details:
Deputy CEO Jørgen Pleym Ulvness, mobile phone: (+47) 906 67 877
CCO, Tor Arne Olsen, mobile phone: (+47) 900 90 470
CFO, Christian Tunge, mobile phone: (+47) 450 65 850

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to
section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.