IRF Irf European Finance Investments Ltd

    RNS Number : 4482K
  IRF European Fin Investments Ltd
  19 December 2008
   


 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 EUR 000              Nine months ended 30  Nine months ended 30
                                    September 2008        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                  11,058                66,611
 continuing operations
 Net Profit from discontinued          (87,139)               28,551
 operations
 Profit after Tax                      (76,082)               95,161
 Attributable to equity holders        (34,276)               15,300
 of IRF
 Minority Interests                    (41,806)                 -
 Basic earnings (loss) per              (0.27)                 0.70
 share (in euro/share) 
 Diluted earnings per share (in         (0.27)                 0.66
 euro/share)
 Basic earnings (loss) per               0.09                  0.63
 share (in euro/share) from
 continuing operations
 Diluted earnings per share (in          0.09                  0.60
 euro/share) from continuing
 operations
 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         409,101               503,645
 holders of the Company
 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 EUR52.5 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 EUR65.0 million, paid in the form of cash.  The
disposal of these Proton shares resulted in a loss of EUR26.9 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 $4.62 per share as at 30 September 2008.   The equity holdings portfolio
of IRF is marked to market on the balance sheet as at 30 September 2008.   As of this date, the total assets of the Company, including the
cash balance of EUR169.3 million, was EUR619.3 million.  The total liabilities were EUR210.2 million.  Consequently, the equity value was
EUR409.1 million.  The Euro/$ 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.

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
  END 
 
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