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Press Releases

Final Results

Quarto announces "another good result"

The Quarto Group, Inc (London: QRT), the London-based international book publisher, reported revenues of £112.7 million for 2008, an increase of 13% over 2007, and adjusted earnings per share of 26.5p, an increase of 9%. Adjusted pre-tax profit, which increased marginally at £7.7 million, represented an eighth successive annual increase.

• Record operating result from International Co-edition Book Publishing segment, with revenues up 11% to £42.7 million, and adjusted operating profit advancing by 23% to £6.4 million. Book Publishing segment revenue increased by 11% to £70.0 million, with adjusted operating profit lower by 3%, at £6.3 million.
• Retail environment deteriorated sharply in last quarter of 2008, particularly in English-speaking markets.
• Net debt, denominated in US dollars, down 11% at $76.5 million. Borrowing facilities, committed to 2012 and beyond, total $165 million.
• Unchanged final dividend of 4.0p proposed by board, making an unchanged 7.15p for the year.

Financial Highlights

Adjusted excludes amortization of non-current intangibles and non-recurring items

Laurence Orbach, Chairman and CEO, commented: "Trading became progressively more difficult during 2008, so I am very pleased to report that your Company achieved another good result. One benefit we have, as an industry, is that we have faced difficult times for several decades. We may not be immune from the gale force winds, but we are, perhaps, more inured than many others to navigating choppy waters. Our business models have been tested over long periods, and have been robust in tough economic times, but there is no guarantee that this time around they will prove themselves again. We can only interrogate them, and trust to our disciplines. I am confident that whatever happens, the professionalism and experience of our staff will help us through 2009.

Our model is very risk-averse and modest, and we expect it to perform robustly in the current economic circumstances."

Notes for Editors

Quarto is an international book publisher and producer with two principal strands of activity: its Publishing segment publishes books, under imprints owned by the Group, in the US, Australia and the UK; and its Co-Edition Publishing segment creates books that are licensed to other publishers for publication under their own imprints in many languages around the world.

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