3U HOLDING AG with improved result in the first nine moths of the 2008 fiscal year

Marburg, November 17, 2008 – In the first nine months of the 2008 fiscal year 3U HOLDING AG, Marburg, posted revenues of € 80.59 million, following on from € 83.04 million in the comparable period of the previous year. The activities continued to focus on a consistent orientation to earnings. This is reflected in the positive development of the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and the EBT (earnings before taxes). In the first nine months of the current fiscal year the EBITDA rose by 13%, from € 7.49 million in the comparable period of the previous year to € 8.48 million. The earnings before taxes were negative at € -6.79 million in the third quarter of 2008 due to belated depreciation at Group level (third quarter 2007: € -1.50 million). From a nine-month stance it was possible to increase the EBT, however, from € -4.62 million in 2007 to € -2.10 million in 2008.

Due to the termination of the sales processes for the Group subsidiaries LambdaNet Communications Deutschland AG and 3U TELECOM GmbH Austria the “held-for-sale” status of both companies was lifted in September 2008. In accordance with IFRS regulations the revenues of the “held-for-sale” companies were not included in the consolidated statements in past quarters but only the results for the period. The depreciation of the shareholdings was neutralized at group level. With the lifting of the “held-for-sale” status as of September 30, 2008 the companies affected will be consolidated in full again and the suspended depreciation will be performed belatedly. The amount of the belated depreciation from January 1 to June 30, 2008 totaled € 4.34 million at LambdaNet. For the 2007 fiscal year there is a negative operating income contribution of € 2.90 million, which was also performed belatedly as of September 30, 2008.

The growth in earnings at the shareholdings in the fixed-network telephony segment also continued in the third quarter of 2008. Although the revenues decreased as scheduled in the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, from € 57.81 million to € 55.08 million, the EBITDA increased in the corresponding period by 231%, from € 1.62 million to € 5.37 million, however. The earnings before taxes increased in the same period by 335%, from € 1.14 million to € 4.96 million.

In the broadband/IP segment LambdaNet Communications Deutschland AG posted revenues of € 25.49 million in the first nine months of 2008 (previous year: € 25.23 million). Adjusted for special effects from the “held-for-sale” status the EBITDA decreased in the first nine months of 2008 over 2007, from € 5.88 million to € 3.12 million. This decrease is due on the whole to pre-production costs for new customer orders and the increase in personnel for the implementation of the planned growth in revenues. The earnings before taxes improved in this period from € -6.08 million to € -5.07 million.

The equity capital ratio improved in a year-on-year comparison by more than four percentage points to 43.71% as of September 30, 2008. The liquid and near-liquid funds of the 3U Group have decreased only slightly to € 34.88 market as of the cut-off date September 30, 2008 compared to June 30, 2008 (€ 35.49 million) despite further repayments by LambdaNet.

The earnings per share in the reporting period were € -0.05 (same period previous year: € -0.09).

Contact

3U HOLDING AG
Neue Kasseler Str. 62F
35039 Marburg
phone: +49 6421 999-1200
fax: +49 6421 999-1998
email: ir@3u.net

3U HOLDING AG: Announcement to Section 4 Sub-section 2 Directive (EU) No. 2273/2003

Marburg, November 6, 2008. The share buy-back program announced by 3U HOLDING AG on October 31, 2008 in an ad hoc announcement begins on November 6, 2008 and is to end on February 27, 2009 at the latest. The Board of Management is thus availing of the authorization granted by the general meeting on August 28, 2007. For the duration of the share buy-back program 3U HOLDING AG reserves the right – in compliance with statutory provisions – to suspend and resume the buy-back program at any time. The purchased shares may be used for all the purposes foreseen in the authorization resolution adopted at the general meeting on August 28, 2007.

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) was commissioned with buying back as many as 4,684,224 shares in the company in accordance with the trading conditions laid down in Section 4 to 6 of the Directive (EU) No. 2273/2003 (EU DIR). LBBW reaches its decisions on the point in time of the purchase of the shares independently and unswayed by the company.

LBBW was commissioned with buying back the shares exclusively through the stock exchange. The transaction value per share (excl. incidental costs) may not be more than 10% higher than or 25% lower than the closing price of the stock in XETRA trading of Frankfurt stock exchange on the trading day prior to the repurchase. Furthermore, in accordance with Section 5 Sub-section 1 EU DIR shares may not be purchased at a price higher than that of the last independent transaction or (should this be higher) higher than that of the current highest independent bid on the stock exchange at which the purchase is taking place.

In accordance with Section 5 Sub-section 2 EU DIR no more than 25% of the average daily share turnover on the stock exchange at which the purchase is taking place may be purchased. The average daily stock turnover is derived from the average daily trading volume of the last twenty trading days prior to the purchase date.

The transactions will be announced in a manner that complies with the requirements of Section 4 Sub-section 4 EU DIR at the end of the seventh trading day following their execution at the latest. Moreover, 3U HOLDING AG will provide regular information on the progress of the share buy-back program under www.3u.net.

 

Contact:
Peter Alex

Head of Investor Relations
3U HOLDING AG

Frauenbergstraße 31–33
35039 Marburg

Tel.: +49 6421 999-1200
Fax: +49 6421 999-1222
E-Mail: ir@3u.net