ALNO AG Achieves Positive EBIT in 2008, Jörg Deisel New CEO

PFULLENDORF, Germany - EBIT rises to EUR 0.2 million (before restructuring costs) - Consolidated income up by around EUR 38 million - Positive outlook for 2009 - Supervisory Board appoints Jörg Deisel as CEO, Jörg Artmann to become CFO

ALNO Aktiengesellschaft, Pfullendorf (ALNO AG), achieved a positive annual result for 2008 and finished the year with EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of EUR 0.2 million before restructuring costs (2007: EUR -23.4 million). The company posted operating EBIT of EUR -0.9 million (2007: EUR -49.5 million). ALNO AG improved its consolidated net profit/loss year on year, to EUR -22.6 million (2007: EUR -60.7 million). This positive development can first and foremost be attributed to the Group’s restructuring successes thus far and to sustainable improvements in its cost situation.

In the 2008 financial year, the Group generated turnover of EUR 511.2 million (2007: EUR 602.2 million), with a 3.6 per cent increase year on year in the share apportioned to foreign business. The drop in turnover stems from the planned discontinuation of low-margin business lines and from structural changes. In the second half of 2008, the global financial and economic crisis likewise had a negative impact.

ALNO AG continued to improve its revenue quality and increased its gross yield margin to 43.3 per cent (2007: 39.2 per cent). This was based on an optimised product mix and increased endeavours to reduce its material expenses.

The success of Q1 2009 reinforces ALNO AG’s positive outlook for 2009. In the current financial year, the company aims to achieve an increase in earnings which outstrips its turnover growth. Under the motto of “ALNO - Wir gehen voran” (ALNO - making progress), the company is now set to initiate the next stage of its development, following the success of the urgent measures already implemented and its moves to secure refinancing for an unlimited period. In this next stage, all of the major internal processes and structures will be thoroughly examined and further improved. At the same time, market-based measures are being implemented to allow ALNO AG to grow profitably in the long term.

At today’s Supervisory Board meeting, the former Deputy CEO, Jörg Deisel, was unanimously appointed as the new CEO of ALNO AG, starting on 1 June 2009. Mr Deisel will also continue in his capacity as Head of Sales and Production. He will succeed the previous CEO and CFO, Dr Georg Kellinghusen, who is set to leave the company by mutual agreement once the defined objectives have been achieved and Mr Deisel has acclimatised to his new position. “An open partnership with our customers founded on trust, a performance-related corporate culture based on efficient structures and processes, and the ability to adapt constantly are the keys to the future success of ALNO AG,” Jörg Deisel says.

The new CFO as of 1 June 2009 will be Jörg Artmann, who is currently the CFO of the Bauknecht Group and was previously the Financial Director of Mars.

Hans-Peter Haase, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ALNO AG, says: “We have found a first-class manager in Jörg Deisel, who will now systematically tackle the tasks ahead. In recent months, he has demonstrated that he is the right man for the job of putting ALNO back on a path of growth and restoring normality.”

Jörg Deisel has been Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of ALNO AG since 1 April 2009 and has been the Head of Sales and Production since October 2008. In his time in this role, he has successfully and continuously fostered the optimisation of the sales and production processes. Before joining ALNO AG, Mr Deisel had numerous operative management positions in Germany and abroad, including terms as the CEO of Dynamit Nobel AG and as the COO of Gagfah S.A.

At its meeting, the Supervisory Board thanked the outgoing Chairman of the Management Board. “Dr Georg Kellinghusen has played a considerable part in putting ALNO back on course for success,” says Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ALNO AG, Hans-Peter Haase. “We are very grateful to him for this and can look back on a very positive period of working together.”

The 2008 ALNO AG annual report will be made publicly available following the conference on the annual financial statements to be held in Stuttgart on 24 June 2009.

Legal disclaimer:

This report includes statements relating to the future based on the management’s current assessment of the company’s future development. While the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and appraisals are accurate, the actual future development of the company and the actual results in the future may diverge greatly from these assumptions and appraisals for a large number of reasons. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which ALNO AG cannot control or accurately foresee, such as the future market environment and the underlying economic conditions, the behaviour of market participants, and the expectation of certain events coming to pass.

Contact: CNC AG Dr Anja Herberg Tel. +49(0)89-5994-58136 Mobile +49(0)172-1359-374 Anja.Herberg@cnc-communications.com

Source: ALNO AG

Contact: CNC AG, Dr Anja Herberg, Tel. +49(0)89-5994-58136, Mobile +49(0)172-1359-374, Anja.Herberg at cnc-communications.com