Jacquet Metal Service: 1st Quarter 2012

Regulatory News:

• Sales€321m
• Operating profit+€10m

On May 9, 2012, the Board of Directors, chaired by Eric Jacquet, examined the consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2012.

in € millions	Â	Q1 2011	Â	Q4 2011	Â	Q1 2012	Â	Change vs. Q1 2011	Â	Change vs. Q4 2011
Sales		347.3		268.5		320.8		-7.6%		+19.5%
Gross margin		84.7		62.5		70.5
% of sales		24.4%		23.3%		22.0%
Operating income		19.1		8.4		10.0
% of sales		5.5%		3.1%		3.1%
Net income – Group share		10.6		2.7		3.5

Activity

Sales for Q1 2012 amounted to €321 million, down 7.6% (of which volume effect of -3.6%, price effect of -2.4%, and scope effect of -1.7%) compared to Q1 2011, which benefited from more favorable market conditions. Compared to Q4 2011, sales were up 19.5%, with a 19.8% increase in distributed volumes, a price effect of 0.8%, and a scope effect of -1.1%. Within this context, operating profit at March 31, 2012 amounted to €10 million, or 3.1% of sales.

	Â	JACQUET	Â	Stappert	Â	ABRASERVICE	Â	IMS
Q1 2012 in € millions		Stainless-steel quarto plates		Long stainless-steel products		Wear-resistant quarto plates		Engineering Steels
Sales		56.6		139.0		21.7		109.7
Pro forma change vs. Q4 2011 Forma		+18.4%		+27.9%		+19.1%		+13.0%
Pro forma change vs. Q1 2011 forma		-2.0%		-7.2%		-4.6%		-6.7%
Operating income*		2.1		5.8		0.3		1.9
% of sales		3.8%		4.2%		1.3%		1.8%

* Non-brand activities (including Jacquet Metal Service SA) contributed -€0.1 million to operating profit.

Financial structure

Operating working capital requirements represented 21.4% of sales, while net debt came to €86.5 million with shareholders' equity of €284 million. The net debt to equity ratio (gearing) thus improved from 33.6% at December 31, 2011 to 30.4%.

General Meeting

The shareholders' Annual General Meeting will be held on June 29, 2012 in Saint Priest. The Board of Directors will submit for shareholder approval a dividend of €0.42 per share for the 2011 fiscal year.

Q1 2012 Interim Report available at www.jacquetmetalservice.com

Jacquet Metal Service (Paris:JCQ) is a European leader in the distribution of specialty steels. The Group develops and operates a brand portfolio currently made up of four brands: JACQUET (stainless Quarto plates), Stappert (long stainless products), Abraservice (wear-resistant Quarto plates) and IMS Group (engineering steels). With a workforce of 2,180 staff, Jacquet Metal Service uses a network of 82 distribution centers in 22 countries in Europe, China and the United States.

Compartment B
ISIN: FR0000033904
Reuters: JCQ.PA
Bloomberg: JCQ FP

Contacts:

Jacquet Metal Service
Thierry Philippe
Tel.: +33 [0]4 72 23 23 50
[e-mail]
or
NewCap. – Investor Relations
Axelle Vuillermet
Tel.: +33 [0]1 44 71 94 94
[e-mail]