Cembre SpA : The Board of Directors approves the Financial Statements of Cembre S.p.A. and the Consolidated Financial Statements at December 31, 2012

Consolidated sales up 0.8% on 2012
Consolidated net profit up 1.2%

• The Board proposes a €0.16 dividend per share
• The net financial position at the end of the year amounted to €0.6 million, after €13.2 million of capital expenditure
• Shareholders' Meeting called on April 29, 2013
• Requisites for the independence of Independent Directors were assessed

Brescia, March 14, 2013 - The Board of Directors of Cembre S.p.A. - a STAR segment listed company and one of the largest European producers of electrical connectors and tools for their installation - approved at today's meeting chaired by its Chairman and Managing Director Giovanni Rosani the Statutory Accounts of Cembre S.p.A. and the Consolidated Financial Statements at December 31, 2012.

With regard to Corporate Governance, the Board, having acknowledged the assertions made by Directors Giancarlo Maccarini, Fabio Fada and Renzo Torchiani and on the basis of independent information acquired, ascertained the possession of requisites for independence - pursuant to article 148, comma 3, of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998, as referred to by article 147-ter, comma 4  of Legislative Decree no.  58/1998 and article 3 of the Self Conduct Code promoted by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. (the Italian Stock Market) - of said Independent Directors Giancarlo Maccarini, Fabio Fada and Renzo Torchiani.
The Board of Directors also resolved to propose to the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting called on April 29, 2013, the distribution of a €0.16 dividend for each of the shares in circulation. The ex-dividend date is May 20, 2013, while dividends will be paid out from May 23, 2012 against the presentation of coupon no. 16. The Shareholders' Meeting will also be required to resolve on proposed amendments to the By-laws.

In 2012, consolidated revenues amounted to €103.9 million, up 0.8% on €103 million in 2011. In the 4th Quarter, consolidated sales grew by 4.4% to €26.5million, up from €25.4 million in the 4th Quarter of 2011.
In the year, consolidated domestic sales amounted to €41.1 million, down 8.3% on the previous year, while exports grew by 7.9% to €62.8 million. A total of 39.5% of Group sales in 2012 were represented by Italy (as compared with 43.5% in 2011), 45.1% by the rest of Europe (42.6% in 2011), and the remaining 15.4% by the rest of the World (13.9% in 2011).

Consolidated gross operating profit amounted in 2012 to €20 million, representing a 19.3% margin on sales, down 0.9% on €20.2 million in 2011, when it represented a 19.6% margin on sales. The cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales declined slightly, while the cost of services and personnel as a percentage of sales increased, partly as the result of the growth of personnel from 591 to 606. In particular, employees of UK subsidiary Cembre Ltd. increased from 79 in 2011, to 92 in 2012 to introduce a second manufacturing shift to meet growing demand from the UK market.

Consolidated operating profit for 2012 amounted to €16.4 million, representing a 15.8% margin on sales, down 5.2% on €17.3 million in 2011, when it represented a 16.8% margin on sales.

Consolidated profit before taxes amounted in 2012 to €16.3 million, representing a 15.7% margin on sales, down 6.3% on €17.4 million in 2011, when it represented a 16.6% margin on sales.

Consolidated net profit for the year amounted to €11.5 million, representing an 11.1% margin on sales, up 1.2% on 2011, when it amounted to €11.4 million and represented an 11.1% margin on sales. Net profit was positively affected by the recording of a €0.7 million non recurrent tax gain deriving from the deduction from taxable income of IRAP (tax on productive activities) on personnel costs for years 2007-2011 (pursuant to article 2, comma1-quarter, Law Decree no. 201/2011).

The net financial position declined from a surplus of €2.3 million at December 31, 2011 to a surplus of €0.6 million at the end of December 2012 due to the strong capital expenditure made in the year, amounting to €13.2 million.

"The Cembre Group closed the 2012 financial year reporting a 0.8% increase in sales, while consolidated sales for the first two months of 2013 grew by 3.5%, both in Italy and abroad - commented Cembre's Managing Director, Giovanni Rosani. "In this framework, in 2013 Cembre expects a slight increase in sales over the previous year".
 "The Group has a balanced financial position amounting at December 31, 2012 to a surplus of €0.6 million, declining from the end of 2011 due to the €13.2 million capital expenditure made in the year. To retain prudentially part of the financial resources generated in the Company, the Board of Directors resolved to propose to the Shareholders' Meeting the distribution of a €0.16 dividend per share for the 2012 financial year".

Parent company Cembre S.p.A. closed the 2012 financial year reporting sales of €79.4 million, down 1.5% on 2011. Operating profit for 2012 declined instead by14.3% to €10.9 million, down from €12.8 million in 2011.  Net profit of the parent company amounted to €8.9 million, down 3.1% on €9.2 million in 2011. In 2012 the parent company received €1.2 million in dividends from its subsidiaries, while in the previous year these amounted to €0.9 million.

Attachments - Financial Statements at December 31, 2012

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 six subsidiaries: five trading companies (in Germany, France, Spain, the United States and Norway) and one manufacturing and trading subsidiary (Cembre Ltd. in Birmingham, U.K.), for a total workforce of 606 as of December 2012. Since 1990 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 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 achieved before amortization, financial flows and taxes.
Operating Profit (EBIT): defined as the difference between the Gross Operating Profit and the value of depreciation, amortization and write-downs. It represents the profit before financial flows and taxes.
Net Financial Position: it 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 2011 financial statements has not yet been completed.

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