DF Deutsche Forfait AG / Final Results 10.03.2009 Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Consolidated net profit increased to EUR 5.8 million - 97% of profit forecast achieved - Forfaiting margin improves for fifth year in succession Cologne, 10 March 2009 - DF Deutsche Forfait AG (ISIN: DE0005488795) has increased consolidated net profit to EUR 5.8 million in the 2008 financial year based on preliminary figures. This corresponds to an increase of 9% compared to the 2007 financial year. Although the today's extent of the financial crisis wasn't foreseeable back then, 97% of the forecast delivered in April 2008 of EUR 6.0 million has been achieved despite the increasingly difficult market conditions over the course of the year. Earnings per share, based on the currently 6.8 million shares outstanding, amounted to EUR 0.85 compared to adjusted earnings of EUR 0.78 in 2007. Gross result including financial results, the most important key figure to measure success in the forfaiting business, went up from EUR 15.1 million to EUR 16.1 million. The financial crisis and the related decrease in liquidity led to a considerable increase in the margin. The forfaiting margin resulting from the gross result related to the forfaiting volume improved for the fifth year in a row and rose from 1.7% in the prior year to 1.9% in the 2008 financial year. This more than offset the decline in the forfaiting volume of 8.4% to EUR 826 million. 'Companies have fewer financing options as a result of the banking crisis and this has led to less competition in purchasing receivables and therefore to higher margins. DF Deutsche Forfait AG benefits considerably from this development on the purchasing side, even if difficulties on the buyer side have a negative impact on the volume. This trend continues undiminished during the current year,' explains CFO Jochen Franke. The company will publish the complete consolidated financial statements and the Annual Report 2008 on 23 April 2009. About DF Group The main business activities of DF Group are the purchase and sale of selected export receivables in emerging markets on a non-recourse basis. The objective is to sell the acquired receivables at the same time or in the short term. Forfaiting is an increasingly important tool in export financing, with volumes rising in line with the continuing advance of globalization. Creating tradable products from receivables benefits both exporters and buyers. As well as transferring risk to the buyer, the main benefit of forfaiting for exporters is the inflow of cash. This relieves the exporters' credit lines and improves their balance sheet structure. DF Deutsche Forfait AG structures receivables attractively, so that investors seek them as a type of investment. DF Deutsche Forfait AG Media & Investor Relations Kattenbug 18 - 24 50667 Cologne T +49 221 97376-37 F +49 221 97376-60 E investor.relations@dfag.de http://www.dfag.de DGAP 10.03.2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Issuer: DF Deutsche Forfait AG Kattenbug 18-24 50667 Köln Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)221 - 973 76 0 Fax: +49 (0)221 - 973 76 76 E-mail: dfag@dfag.de Internet: www.dfag.de ISIN: DE0005488795 WKN: 548879 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DGAP-News: DF Deutsche Forfait AG generates considerable increase in profit in 2008
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