IRF Euro Fin Invs Ld - 3rd Quarter Results



Press Release

19 December 2008

IRF European Finance Investments Ltd 

('IRF' or the 'Company')

Nine Months 2008 Results

IRF European Finance Investments Ltd (AIM: IRF) announces its audited financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2008.  

Financial Highlights

Amounts in € 000	Nine months ended 30 September 2008	Nine months ended 30 September 2007
Income Statement items
Net Income	11,476	78,057
Profit before income tax	11,058	66,611
Income tax expense	-	-
Profit after tax from continuing operations	11,058	66,611
Net Profit from discontinued operations	(87,139)	28,551
Profit after Tax	(76,082)	95,161
Attributable to equity holders of IRF	(34,276)	15,300
Minority Interests	(41,806)	-
Basic earnings (loss) per share (in euro/share)	(0.27)	0.70
Diluted earnings per share (in euro/share)	(0.27)	0.66
Basic earnings (loss) per share (in euro/share) from continuing operations	0.09	0.63
Diluted earnings per share (in euro/share) from continuing operations	0.09	0.60
Balance Sheet Items
Cash and cash equivalents	169,264	363,894
Total assets	619,312	2,770,958
Total liabilities	210,211	1,963,451
Total Equity	409,101	807,507
Equity attributable to equity holders of the Company	409,101	503,645
Minority Interests	-	303,862

Results of the Proton Group for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2008 have been consolidated in the financials as 'discontinued operations' due to the sale of a majority of IRF's stake in Proton Bank, as discussed below. The Proton Group suffered significant losses due to adverse economic conditions and the dislocation in the capital markets, especially as it related to the credit markets. Proton's loss for the period was €52.5 million, which has been included in discontinued operations. The losses from discontinued operations also include the loss from the disposal of Proton shares and related impairment losses on goodwill.

IRF prepares its financial statements in the format of 'order of liquidity' according to IAS 1 due to the nature of its operations. Given the disposal of the share in Proton, IRF will re-examine the format of the presentation of financial statements for the period beginning 1 January 2009, in order to adopt all the new changes and stipulations of the revised IAS 1. 

Disposal of Proton Shares

Given the significant volatility affecting financial institutions, IRF decided to dispose of a majority of its investment in Proton Bank. IRF was able to take advantage of an opportunity to sell these shares at a 10% premium to the then market price.  Consequently, on 25 September 2008 IRF sold 10 million shares in Proton Bank for gross sales proceeds of €65.0 million, paid in the form of cash.  The disposal of these Proton shares resulted in a loss of €26.9 million, as presented under results from discontinued operations. As of 30 September 2008 IRF held approximately 2.9 million shares in Proton.  

Net Asset Value

IRF determined that its shares had a net asset value ('NAV') of $4.62 per share as at 30 September 2008.   The equity holdings portfolio of IRF is marked to market on the balance sheet as at 30 September 2008.   As of this date, the total assets of the Company, including the cash balance of €169.3 million, was €619.3 million.  The total liabilities were €210.2 million.  Consequently, the equity value was €409.1 million.  The Euro/$ exchange rate of $1.4092 on 30 September 2008 was used to compute the NAV.   As of 30 September 2008, IRF had 124.8 million common shares outstanding. 

IRF intends to determine and publish NAV on a periodic basis. This estimated NAV is provided for information purposes only and should not be relied upon for investment decisions.

For further information:

IRF European Finance Investments Ltd

Angeliki Frangou, Chairperson                   Tel: +30 (0) 210 428 0560

Numis Securities Limited

Nick Westlake (Nomad)                            Tel: +44 20 7260 1000

Alex, Ham (Broker)                                  Tel: +44 20 7260 1000

About IRF

IRF was formed to invest in the financial services industry throughout Europe with a primary focus on credit institutions and insurance companies in South Eastern Europe. IRF's current strategy is the acquisition of financial institutions having valuations which do not reflect their potential and where marketing and operational efficiencies are possible.  

Forward-looking statements

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. IRF assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update the information contained herein except as required by law.

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