PARIS, July 23, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----Today, Oberthur Technologies reported second quarter 2008 sales of EUR217.2m, up 20.2% year-on-year at current rates. Organic growth reached 12.3% at constant rates versus Q2 2007.

 in M EUR 2008 2007 Var. Constant Var. Current Rate Rate First
   Quarter 184.3 169.4 13.1% 8.8% Second Quarter OT 217.2 180.7 25.6% 20.2% OT (Excl. XPonCard) 193.4 180.7 12.3% 7.0% First
   Semester OT 401.5 350.1 19.6% 14.7% OT (Excl. XPonCard) 377.7 350.1 12.7% 7.9% 

Card:

During the second quarter, the Card Systems activity posted sharp growth in sales, up 30% to EUR186.7m, or 36% at constant rates. This performance was boosted by the integration of XponCard in Oberthur's scope of consolidation on May 1st, 2008.

At constant perimeter, sales rose 13% at current rates and 20% at constant rates, to EUR162.9m. This performance reflects a combination of sustained demand in the SIM and ID markets and in all regions of the world. Thanks to strong organic growth, deliveries represented 149 million microprocessor cards, a 66% increase in volumes compared to Q2 2007.

- Mobile Communications segment:

Mobile sales came to EUR86m, a 45% increase at current rate.

Excluding XPonCard, Oberthur's mobile sales were up 28% to EUR76m. In the SIM card sub-segment, volumes rose 76% on Q2 2007 and sales reached, EUR70m.

Price pressure remains moderate, enabling Card Systems to deliver good gross margin level. Trends in ASP primarily reflect the geographic mix: delivery volumes in Asia accounted for 42% of SIM cards sold versus 28% in Q2 2007.

All regions put in good performances:

- Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) particularly benefited from a buoyant activity in the emerging regions.

- Growth in the Americas was contrasted. Sales continued to rise sharply in South America while the dollar exchange rate strongly penalized revenue in the USA.

- In Asia, volumes again rose appreciably (+ 170%) compared to Q2 2007. A significant trend is undoubtedly the stability of ASP compared to last year, excluding the impact of exchange rates.

The scratch card activity was stable compared to Q2 2007.

- Payment segment[1]:

With sales of EUR83.2m, payment business grew 15% at current rates. With the acquisition of XPonCard, Oberthur has become the leading player in the Scandinavian market.

Excluding XPonCard, the whole payment segment posted revenue of EUR70.9m, despite negative impact of UK pound and US dollar exchange rate. Volumes rose 33%, with 34 million microprocessor payment cards sold during the quarter.

Market conditions are stable in well-established EMV markets. EMV rollout is proceeding progressively in Spain, Brazil and South Africa. In the USA, the magnetic stripe card market is depressed by economic conditions in the banking sector and price pressure. Conversely, growth is confirmed (+50%) in contactless cards.

The personalization services segment posted growth of 7.4% with sustained demand in all regions of the world. Oberthur is strengthening its involvement in global projects with the major banks, where it can capitalize on its network of service bureaus.

- Identity & Security[2] segment:

This segment rebounded in the second quarter with strong organic growth of 30% and sales of EUR16.1m. This good performance can be ascribed to pay TV as well as Identity.

Fiduciary and Cash Protection:

In the fiduciary segment, industrial activity is still sustained and the order book remains at an excellent level for the whole year 2008. Nevertheless, sales reached EUR25.8m in Q2 2008, due to the timing of deliveries. Annual targets remain unchanged.

In the Cash Protection segment, Q2 2008 was negatively impacted by postponement of anticipated renewals in France and Export rollouts. Q2 sales came to EUR4.1m.

Overall, Fiduciary and Cash Protection sales came to EUR29.9m, down 19% year-on-year.

Economic results

As expected, the company maintained a good level of gross margin in Q2 2008. Combined with growth in sales, this should lead to an improvement of operating income compared to H1 2007.

Outlook

On July 1st, the company announced creation of an Identity Division centralizing all its activities in this field (Card + Fiduciary). The Identity Division would have posted sales of about EUR15M in Q2 2008, a 30% growth. Recent successes (e-passports in Taiwan & in the Philippines) will positively impact 2008 sales.

Card Systems anticipates unchanged good market conditions in Q3 2008 despite still very limited visibility for telecom. Integration of XPonCard is proceeding according to plan.

Fiduciary should maintain a good level of activity. In the Cash Protection segment, renewals in the French market should remain slow. Deployments of new products abroad should progressively continue.

A PowerPoint presentation will be available on the company web site on Wednesday, July 23rd around 7 am.

About Oberthur Technologies

With sales of EUR733.4 million in 2007, Oberthur Technologies is one of the world leaders in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality services ensure Oberthur's strong positioning in its main target markets:

- Card Systems: one of the world's leading providers of security and identification based on smart card technology for the mobile, payment, identity, pay TV and transit markets, and associated services such as personalization.

- Fiduciary: The world's third largest private security printer, specializing in the production and management of high security products such as banknotes, passports and other identify documents, checks and secure documents in more than 50 countries.

- Oberthur Cash Protection: world leader in the emerging market of equipment for smart cash transportation and ATM protection.

Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrial and commercial presence across all five continents. Oberthur Technologies is listed on Eurolist - compartment B.

 Web site: http://www.oberthur.com ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
   Exhibit Breakdown of sales by segment and geographical region Oberthur Technologies Consolidated - 2008 vs. 2007 by segment
   EURm Q2 2008 Q2 2007 % change 2008/2007 at current rates OCS - Mobile 86 59.2 +45.2% communications OCS - Payment 83.2 72.2
   +15.3% OCS - Identity & 17.5 12.4 +41.2% Security Oberthur Fiduciary 25.8 30.9 -16.5% Oberthur Cash 4.1 6.2 -34.1% Protection
   Other 0.5 (0.6) Total 217.2 180.7 +20.2% Oberthur Technologies - by region EURm Q2 2008 Q2 2007 % change 2008/2007 at current
   rates EMEA 141.8 125.9 +12.7% Americas 51.0 44.1 +15.7% Asia 24.4 10.7 +127.1% Total 217.2 180.7 +20.2% Oberthur Technologies
   - Card Systems - by product EURm Q2 2008 Q2 2007 % change 2008/2007 % change 2008 / at constant rates 2007 at constant rates
   Microprocessor 134.2 98.9 +41.2% +35.7% cards Payment 39.7 34.8 +19.6% +13.8% Mobile communications 78.5 53.8 +50.9% +45.9%
   Identity & 16.1 10.2 +64.1% 57.8% Security Other cards 18.0 18.8 +3.0% -4.0% Services & 34.5 26.5 +37.7% +29.9% Solutions
   Total 186.7 144.2 +35.6% +29.5% --------------------------------- [1] Payment, loyalty & transit [2] Governmental &
   corporate ID, Healthcare, Pay-TV... Oberthur Technologies Image 7 Jean-Michel Guichot - CFO Caroline Simon-Phelip Tel.: +33-1-47-64-64-08
   Tel.: +33-1-53-70-74-65 jm.guichot@oberthur.com E-mail: caroline.simon@image7.fr Tiphaine Hecketsweiler Tel.: +33-1-53-70-74-59
   E-mail: thecketsweiler@image7.fr 

SOURCE Oberthur Technologies

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