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Encouraging Start to the Year for Findexa

03:37 EDT Tuesday, May 24, 2005

OSLO, Norway, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With a substantially strengthened position in the online market, Norwegian media house Findexa reported a solid start to 2005. Reporting in the new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), revenue and profit figures for the first quarter are difficult to compare with previous quarters, but show that the company is making progress.

Findexa had an EBITDA of NOK 164 million in the first quarter, and achieved total revenues of NOK 392 million, in line with prior year. Costs were level with the prior period. Run-rate revenue and EBITDA, adjusting for timing differences, were NOK 413 million and NOK 183 million respectively.

Under IFRS, recognition of revenues starts when distribution of the related directories have been completed and continues pro rata over the term of the contract as opposed to full recognition on commencement of distribution as previously reported under NGAAP. This new revenue recognition principle has significant impact on Findexa's income statement on a quarter-by-quarter basis. For instance, under IFRS, Q1 2004 benefited from an overlap of the 2003 and 2004 Gule Sider directories whilst Q1 2005 includes a period of no directory revenue from either the 2004 or 2005 Gule Sider publications. To facilitate like-for-like comparison of quarterly results going forward, therefore, the financial discussions related to the income statement exclude the impact of timing differences. In addition, management will present a run- rate statement, which more accurately reflects the current state of the business.

A highlight of the quarter was the performance of gulesider.no, which is Norway's largest commercial search site and which maintained its lead over its main competitors.

"We have made progress on a number of fronts," explains CEO Cornel Riklin. "The most gratifying aspect is a 36.6 per cent revenue rise in the online market. The growth in our online usage, together with the planned launch of new products, offers very exciting opportunities. In addition, the acquisition of RosaIndex announced today will increase the proportion of online revenue and create a stronger platform for our B2B business going forward."

"We have announced the launch of a new C2C portal which will include free classified advertisements -- including real estate -- on gulesider.no. This represents an attractive and expanding market, where we can effectively leverage a number of synergies, further strengthening our competitiveness," says Riklin.

Findexa is maintaining its quarterly dividend payments to shareholders. The payout for the first quarter of 2005 will be NOK 0.72, at level with previous quarters. This represents an annualised dividend yield of 11.6%.

About Findexa

Findexa is the largest publisher of directory products in Norway, and one of the leading media companies in the country. In 2004, Findexa published 115 directories with a combined circulation of 9 million copies. Findexa's main brands are Gule Sider(R), Telefonkatalogen(TM), Ditt Distrikt(R) and BizKit(R). The products are distributed through printed directories, via SMS,

on the Internet, CD-ROM, and the directory assistance service Telefonkatalogen(TM) 1880.

In 2004, Findexa's operating revenues were NOK 1,727 million and EBITDA was NOK 776 million. Findexa has been traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange since May 25, 2004. For more information, visit http://www.findexa.no.

     Enquiries:

     Findexa
     Erik Dahl, Chief Financial Officer
     Erik.dahl@findexa.no
     Mobile: +47 970 06 560

     College Hill
     Mark Garraway
     mark.garraway@collegehill.com
     Mobile: +44 7771 860 938

The full financial results including tables can be downloaded from the following link: http://hugin.info/133752/R/995538/150959.pdf

SOURCE Findexa

CONTACT: Erik Dahl, Chief Financial Officer, of Findexa, +47-970-06-560, Erik.dahl@findexa.no; or Mark Garraway of College Hill, +44-7771-860-938, mark.garraway@collegehill.com

© PR Newswire

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