• EBITA increased by 11.3 percent to euro 129.1 million
• Results impacted by devaluation of East European currencies and depreciation of deferred taxes
• Package of measures to enhance resistance to crisis
• Proposal for appropriation of earnings governed by heightened insecurity of current economic situation

Kirkel – March 2, 2009. According to the still preliminary data for fiscal 2008, the Praktiker Group achieved EBITA of euro 129.1 million. This is euro 13.1 million or 11.3 percent more than a year earlier.

As the drastic devaluations of the East European currencies towards the end of last year led to high, albeit non-cash, expenditures in the financial results, earnings before taxes fell short of the previous year’s level and reached euro 79.8 million (previous year euro 93.5 million). Moreover, based on an impairment test of all assets, deferred tax assets were depreciated in the total amount of euro 53.9 million. Euro 50.0 million of this depreciation relates to deferred tax assets on tax loss carry forwards in Germany. On account of the insecurity caused by the financial crisis, a higher risk markdown was applied to expected future earnings. This expenditure is non-cash, it will not restrict the possibility to take advantage of the tax loss carry forwards in future either.

The net income of the Praktiker Group will reach euro 7.1 million according to the still preliminary figures (previous year: euro 23.7 million).

Package of measures to enhance resistance to crisis

The overall economic environment has become increasingly impaired. This situation has heightened insecurity about how business is going to develop in the current financial year. In order to be prepared for a decline in sales, the Management Board has resolved on a package of measures geared to enhancing the Group’s resistance to crisis. A hiring freeze was decided unti further notice. The staff outside the collectively agreed pay scale will not receive any raise of their fixed salary components in 2009. In addition, the necessary preconditions were met for introducing short-time work in those German Praktiker stores which encounter a decline in sales and workload in the wake of the economic downturn. This option was applied to 85 of 260 outlets for the first time this week.

Further measures to reduce cost and increase efficiency were already initiated in the fourth quarter of the previous year, such as the general reduction of all expenses planned for 2009 at the Group headquarter, the concentration of in-house services in the Praktiker service company and the pooling of the Group-wide procurement volume at the central buying organization. In sum, these measures are to contribute to the achievement of reasonable earnings in 2009, too.

In order to maintain liquidity - which was just above euro 230 million at the end of 2008 - at the highest possible level, the Management Board essentially relies on keeping capital expenditure flexible. Capex decisions 2009 will be made at short notice only in order to align them in the best possible way with the current course of business.

Proposal for the appropriation of profits governed by heightened insecurity of the current economic situation

The proposal for the appropriation of profits is guided by the aspects of maintaining a sufficiently high level pf liquidity and hence strengthening of the Group’s resistance to crisis. The Management Board of Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG has agreed to propose to the Supervisory Board that the major part of net earnings should be retained and a dividend of euro 0.10 per share be distributed.

Wolfgang Werner, Chairman of the Management Board of the Praktiker Group, asserted: “The Management Board did not make it easy for itself in recommending this measure. We fully understand the investors’ interest in returns. But we are also of the opinion that securing the resistance of the Praktiker Group to crisis serves the interests of the shareholders in a better way. We do not know what may still be in store for us in the light of the current, difficult general economic situation. All our measures are geared to ensuring that liquid funds will also be at a comfortable level at the end of 2009. Moreover, we hold the view that in this way we can distribute the burden of the necessary precautionary measures more evenly among all stakeholders interested in the economic performance of the Praktiker Group.”

The Praktiker Group will publish the complete annual financial statements at its annual press conference in Frankfurt on 27 March 2009.

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