Press Release

Preliminary results for 2008

Cembre (a STAR listed company):
consolidated revenues grew by 0.9%

Positive net financial position

Consolidated figures (€ ‘000)	2008	marg. %	2007	marg.%.	var.%
Sales	94.288	100	93.417	100	0,9
Gross operating profit	19.206	20,4	21.710	23,2	-11,5
Operating profit	16.154	17,1	18.420	19,7	-12,3
Pre-tax profit	15.964	16,9	18.118	19,4	-11,9

Brescia, February 23, 2009 – Cembre Spa – a STAR segment listed company and one of the largest European producers of electrical connectors and tools for their installation – published preliminary results for 2008 which have not yet been approved by the Board of Directors and whose auditing is still underway. The Board of Directors called to approve the proposed Financial Statements at December 31, 2008 will meet on March 12, 2009.
Cembre closed the 2008 financial year reporting consolidated revenues of €94.3 million, up 0.9% on €93.4 million for the 2007 financial year. In the 4th Quarter of 2008, consolidated sales amounted to €21.8 million, down 4.9% on the corresponding period in 2007 when they amounted to €22.9 million.
In 2008, consolidated domestic sales amounted to €41.1 million, up 4.6% on the previous year, while exports declined by 2.5% to €42.2 million. In the year, a total of 43.6% of sales were represented by Italy (42% in 2007), 44.8% by the rest of Europe (46.4% in 2007) and 11.6% by the rest of the world (the same as in 2007).
In the 4th Quarter of 2008, domestic sales declined by 4.6% on the corresponding period in 2008, while exports declined by 5.1%.

Consolidated operating profit (Ebit) for 2008 amounted to €16.2 million, representing a 17.1% margin on sales, down 12.3% on €18.4 million in 2007, when it represented a 19.7% margin on sales. In 2007, operating profit benefited from a non-recurrent gain of €1 million resulting from the restatement of employee termination indemnities caused by regulatory changes. Net of this component, operating profit for 2007 would have amounted to €17.4 million, representing an 18.6% margin on sales, and the decline of the same in 2008 would have thus been equal to 7.1%.

The net financial position improved from an indebtedness of €1.7 million at December 31, 2007 to positive €1.2 million at the end of December 2008.

“In the 4th Quarter consolidated revenues declined by 4.9% on the corresponding period in 2007, and the current year has thus far been accompanied by a strong contraction in all major markets. We therefore expect sales to decline for 2009 as a whole, with the strongest declines concentrated in the first part of the year. The Group has a solid financial position, equal to €1.2 million at December 31, 2008, which we deem to be a strong advantage in facing the current global economic downturn” observed Cembre’s Managing Director, Giovanni Rosani.

Cembre designs, manufactures and distributes electrical connectors and cable accessories. It enjoys a leadership position in Italy and significant market shares in the rest of Europe.
It is also the world's largest producer of connector installation tools (mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic) and tools for cable shearing. The products it has developed for connection to the rail and for other railway applications are used by the main companies in this sector round the world.
Cembre owes its success to an insistence on innovative, high-quality products, a broad and thorough collection, and an extensive distribution network both in Italy and abroad.

Founded in Brescia in 1969, the Cembre Group is now a full-fledged international force. Along with the parent company in Brescia it has seven subsidiaries: five trading companies (in Germany, France, Spain, the United States and Norway) and two manufacturing and trading subsidiaries (Cembre Ltd. in Birmingham, U.K. and General Marking S.r.l. in Bergamo), for a total workforce of 522 as of September 2007. Since 1992 its products have been certified by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance for the design and production of accessories for cables, electrical connectors and tools for their installation.
Cembre has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since December 15, 1997, and on the STAR section since September 24, 2001. The financial statements and accounts of all companies of the Cembre Group are audited by independent auditors Ernst & Young.

The manager responsible for preparing the Company’s financial reports, Claudio Bornati, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154 bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, books and accounting records

In the present press release use is made of certain alternative performance indicators that are not envisaged in IFRS-EU accounting principles, and whose significance and content are illustrated below, in line with the CESR/05-178b recommendation published on November 3, 2005:

Gross operating profit (EBITDA): defined as the difference between sales revenues and costs for materials, of services received, and the net balance of operating income and charges. It represents the profit before depreciation, amortization and write-downs, cash flow from financial activities and taxes.
Operating profit (EBIT): defined as the difference between Gross operating profit and the value of depreciation, amortization and write-downs. It represents the profit achieved before financial activities and taxes.
Net financial position: represents the algebraic sum of cash and cash equivalents, financial receivables and current and non-current financial debt.

At the date of the present press release the auditing of the 2008 financial statements has not yet been completed.

Contact:
Ferruccio Peroni (Peroni e Vitale comunicazione) f.peroni@peronievitale.it

For further information please contact Mr. Claudio Bornati
Cembre S.p.A. - Tel. +390303692269