The first half of financial year 2007/2008

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2 The first half of financial year 2007/2008 In the first half of the fiscal year 2007/2008 the market environment was again very volatile. Despite these difficult conditions, we considerably improved our result in the reporting period from 01 July to 31 December 2007 as compared to the first half of the fiscal year 2006/2007. The gross profit rose 17% to 18,992k before cost of trading and after cost of trading 26% to 15,193k. The earnings before taxes improved by 127% to 4,741k. The calculated half-year net profit after taxes totalled 3,153k, which is an increase of 400% compared to the previous year s 626k. The half-year figures at a glance (in k) 2006/2007* 2007/2008 Gross profit before cost of trading 16,215 18,992 Gross profit after cost of trading 12,035 15,193 Earnings before taxes 2,090 4,741 Preliminary net profit 626 3,153 *2006/2007 Germany and London consolidated Consolidated Thousands of Euros Gross profit before cost of trading Gross profit after cost of trading Earnings before taxes Preliminary net profit 2006/ /2008

3 The figures of the previous year include the result of our London branch, which was closed in June This leads to both upward and downward corrections of the growth rates shown above. When the previous year figures are compared without the London result, the developments of the first halfyear of the current fiscal year would show the true performance of Steubing AG: The gross profit before cost of trading has grown 30% rather than the 17% presented above (previous year without London: 14,644k). Moreover, the gross profit after cost of trading had increased by 42% (previous year without London: 10,693k). Earnings before taxes lies at a level almost 46% above the previous year s adjusted result ( 3,251k) and the net profit rose, also due to lower tax rates, by 76% compared to the adjusted figures of the previous year. The domestic half-year figures in comparison (in k) 2006/ /2008 Gross profit before cost of trading 14,644 18,992 Gross profit after cost of trading 10,693 15,193 Earnings before taxes 3,251 4,741 Preliminary net profit 1,792 3, Germany Thousands of Euros Gross profit before cost of trading Gross profit after cost of trading Earnings before taxes Preliminary net profit 2006/ /2008

4 During the reporting period the DAX was unable to sustain the positive development of the first six months of calendar year The German stock index reached its annual high of 8, points on 13 July Then in the summer the US housing market crisis and its impact on the global finance industry caught the attention of investors. In this context the index dropped 12%, marking a half-year low of 7, points on 17 August The determined interest rate and liquidity policies of the central banks stabilised the financial markets, allowing the DAX to recover until mid-september, when it again reached 8,000 points. The markets remained volatile until the end of the calendar year and the DAX closed at 8, points on 28 December The developments of different sectors were extremely varied. In particular CDAX -Banken suffered notable losses due to the exposure of many financial institutions in the US housing market. The emerging risk of a downturn in the USA and its consequences for the world economy burdened the securities in the small- and mid cap segments as well. Development of various stock indices (Percentages, in the period from 01 July to 28 December 2007) 5 0 DAX 2004/06 TecDAX MDAX Stoxx50-20 C-DAX Banken

5 The turnover generation at the German stock exchanges was not as dynamic in the second half-year 2007 as it was in the first. The turnover of all German stock exchanges remained at 3.51 trillion* almost 1.5% below that in the first halfyear 2007, but was still around 50% above the turnover of the second half-year of calendar year We have continued to expand our trading activities in foreign stocks. For the first time, we have executed trades for our clients in the Arab world, for example in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as in Argentina and Brazil. We increased our personnel in this area to improve our business opportunities in international arbitrage trading. In the derivatives business, the cooperation with IDC AG was restructured on 01 November For this purpose, SDB Steubing Derivatives Brokerage GmbH ( SDB ) was established. As partners, IDC AG and Steubing AG have equal shares of the newly founded company. SDB acts as a so-called contractually bound broker (according to section 2 (10) of the German Banking Act) on behalf of Steubing AG, providing investment services in certified and uncertified derivatives. With this new business structure, we accommodate increased trading volumes and the MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) regulations. The MiFID rules for securities trading took effect for all EUmember states on 01 November This has an impact on a great number of processes and structures of the securities business for all securities trading companies in Europe. The repercussions the rules have on business processes, trading structures, stock exchanges and OTC markets and their price models have kept the financial markets and its players, us including, very busy in the last months. In the area of Underwriting/Equity Capital Markets, which we strive to gradually expand, we have completed first transactions on behalf of our clients. Already in April 2007 we performed a capital increase for Nanostart AG and in September we supported MagForce Nanotechnologies AG in their listing in the Entry Standard. We have become the Deutsche Börse Listing Partner for both companies. In addition, we have entered 10 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) of Power Shares Global Funds Ireland Plc into the Regulated Market. Both for MagForce Nanotechnologies AG and the ETFs of Power Shares Global Funds Ireland Plc we were designated as Lead Broker. *(Source: Deutsche Börse AG, Deutsche Börse Monthly Statistics)

6 The IPOs of Envitec Biogas AG and centrotherm photovoltaics AG added two further interesting companies to the industrial group Renewable Energies, for which we are the lead broker. Our role as a lead broker of international securities was considerably expanded in the first half-year of the current financial year. In the meantime, we are the lead broker for around 990 order books (end of financial year 2006/2007: 850) in the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. At the end of the calendar year 2007, Mr. Wolfgang Steubing withdrew from operative business. In the context of a continuously very satisfying development in the first half-year of the fiscal year 2007/2008, this step completed the gradual transfer of management duties from one generation to the next within the Management Board of Steubing AG. In October 2007, Mr. Wolf-Dietrich Martin had retired from the Management Board. 20 years after founding the company, Mr. Steubing completely handed over the leadership of Wolfgang Steubing AG Wertpapierdienstleister to the already well-settled management team of Messrs Dr. Jochen Grossmann, Alexander Caspary and Kai Jordan. In the future, Steubing AG will continue to benefit from the experience of its founder: Mr. Steubing has expressed his readiness to stand for election to the Supervisory Board at the next annual general meeting of shareholders on 08 February 2008 in Frankfurt/Main. Further candidates are the former Mayor of Frankfurt, Mr. Achim Vandreike, and Mr. Wolf-Dietrich Martin. The Management and Supervisory Boards will propose to the general meeting of shareholders to pay a dividend of 0.90 per share for the fiscal year 2006/2007 (after 0.75 in the previous year).

7 Outlook As a result of the US housing crisis and its negative impact on the financial markets, the economic growth in the second half of 2007 slowed down considerably. The consequences of the crisis for the American and global financial systems as well as the implications for the real economy are still not fully quantifiable. In the United States, an economic recession becomes more and more likely. For the first time in several years, the mood in the manufacturing sector fell below 50 points last December which indicated a slowdown of the economic cycle. However, if compared to earlier cycles, the negative impact on the world economy should remain moderate, as the growth rates of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), which absorb an increasing part of German exports, appear to continue growing in 2008 at least. Therefore, we do not think that the signs of a downturn in the USA will be sufficient to bring global growth to a halt. Nevertheless, the speed of growth will in all likelihood slow down. The majority of economic research institutes have lowered their growth expectations for Germany from 2.3% to 2.5% to a level of 1.4% to 2.0%*. In Germany, the economic cycle will be boosted by domestic consumption. The labour market presents excellent figures, be it for the reduction in unemployment or the increase of employment opportunities. Such developments have in the past always led to a sustainable acceleration of private consumption. However, the positive developments of the labour market have a downside. Labour unions dominate the current wage negotiations, as can be seen in their demands for considerable wage hikes. The IG BCE wants rises of up to 7.5% for wages and salaries in the chemical industries. For the steel and public sectors, as much as 8% more pay is demanded. Historically the unions have achieved about 60% of their demands, which would mean deals between 4.5% and 4.8%. As such wage settlements could lead to the much-feared second-round effects, the European Central Bank would be forced to react, which would mean higher key interest rates in the short term. But equally the European Central Bank cannot neglect in its decision-making process the still smouldering credit crisis and the fears of global recession connected to it. *(Source: iw-konjunkturprognose 2008)

8 This scenario is now gradually being anticipated by the capital markets. As a consequence, we expect falling prices on the stock markets for the time being. Further developments will depend on the effects of the US credit crisis on the real economy. It is nearly impossible to make a reliable prediction, since to date even the Federal Reserve has not been able to quantify its impact on the United States. Therefore, the current consensus estimates for this year s corporate profits are highly uncertain. Based on these estimates by Factset, our calculation of the fair value for the German stock index (DAX ) puts it slightly above 9,000 points towards the end of this year. Should the crisis on the capital markets persist over the next few months, it is likely that the fair value of the DAX will experience a downward adjustment. Should these forecasted developments on the capital markets materialise, the second half of our current financial year will continue to progress in a demanding market environment. In addition, the next months will see some further action in the German financial sector regarding the developments of the compensation case Phoenix/EdW. At the end of 2007, the EdW sent out notifications on the sharing of losses of a part of the compensations, which are still to be fully quantified. In financial year 2005/2006 we already made sufficient provisions for this case. Nevertheless, Steubing AG has appealed against the notification. Numerous members of the EdW are planning to take legal action against the exceptional sharing of losses, in particular since the legal foundations of the German system of compensation of losses made by investors are questioned by many experts. In this context, a lawsuit has been filed with the German Federal Constitutional Court. In our opinion, a political solution to this problem would be preferable to a drawn-out legal action. In order to expand our brokerage services for institutional clients in Germany and abroad, we are planning to expand our research offering. Currently, we focus on Renewable Energy. In parallel, we are making efforts in sales to reinforce our placement performance with institutional clients in the European markets. Convincing research and extensive sales coverage of institutional clients are the precondition for the expansion of a successful Equity Capital Markets business.

9 A further focus of our activities will be the enlargement of our electronic order routing through our international trading platform and the active marketing of this platform to our trading clients. Furthermore, in January this year we expect to start acting as Best Executor in the market model Xetra BEST. Currently, we are having talks with our clients to expand our activities in this business field. The advantages for our clients will be in particular the Best Execution and the immediate complete execution (no partial executions) of orders as well as an improved pricing as compared to the Xetra order book. Xetra BEST conforms with MiFID. It is a controlled trade on the stock exchange on a regulated market and offers the client maximum transparency. Following the formal implementation of the MiFID, we expect a growing need to invest in advanced trading technologies and systems.

10 The Company Steubing AG is an established investment and securities trading bank with its head office in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. The company was founded in May 1987 as Wolfgang Steubing GmbH Börsenmakler (a limited liability company) and was transformed into a public limited company in January In July 2005, a branch office was established in Hamburg. In November 2006, Steubing AG became a Deutsche Börse Listing Partner. The activities of the company include full-service brokerage, investment services, underwriting, portfolio management, and proprietary trading. At the end of the calendar year 2007, the company had a staff of 70 employees. Steubing AG is a member of the Federal Association of Securities Trading Firms at the German Stock Markets (bwf e.v.) and the EdW (Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen), which compensates potential losses in accordance with the Law to Secure Deposits and Compensate Investors. Steubing AG Services The trade in stocks and warrants at the world s major stock exchanges is the foundation of all operations of Steubing AG. Over the years, Steubing AG has accumulated extensive experience in international markets. In the turnover ranking of different market segments of the Deutsche Börse AG, Steubing AG is regularly a top performer. Steubing AG trades all stocks and warrants listed on German stock exchanges. It also has direct online links to around 30 international exchanges. Core operations currently comprise Equity Trading, Lead Broking, Designated Sponsoring, Equity Capital Markets, and Research. As a lead broker, Steubing AG offers investors and issuers the possibility to trade directly at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Deutsche Börse AG has commissioned us to carry out the price fixing of about 1,000 domestic and international securities in Frankfurt.

11 Since the introduction of Designated Sponsoring in October 1998 by the Deutsche Börse AG, Steubing AG manages the securities of very attractive companies in the electronic trading system Xetra. From the start, Steubing AG has continuously quoted shares of the Designated Sponsor mandates with the top rating AA. At present, Steubing AG is Designated Sponsor for the following companies: BB Biotech AG BB Medtech AG MagForce Nanotechnologies AG Nanostart AG SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG In the areas of Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Advisory we support companies in preparing and carrying out initial public offerings (IPOs) and capital increases. We advice listed companies with regard to their positioning on the capital markets.

12 Contacts Management Board Money Laundering Officer Revision Internal Audit Dr. Jochen Grossmann Alexander Caspary Kai Jordan Adolf Zimmermann Carsten Bokelmann +49.(0) Dietmar Amberg +49.(0) Compliance / Hanns-Adrian Braun Middle Office +49.(0) Investor Relations Domestic Trading Foreign Trading Commission Trading Research Sales-Trading Derivative Sales Lead Broking Foreign Domestic Equity Capital Markets Corporate Advisory IT Janina Wiebols +49.(0) Kai Jordan +49.(0) Andreas Keune (Proxy) +49.(0) Klaus Best +49.(0) Klaus-Peter Steinert +49.(0) Kai Jordan +49.(0) Wolfgang Schroth +49.(0) Adolf-Michael Ropeter +49.(0) Joachim Grosse +49.(0) Anthony Disser +49.(0) Dr. Jochen Grossmann +49.(0) Michael Schatzschneider +49.(0) Waleri Schwert +49.(0)

13 Contacts Sales Justin Barnebeck +49.(0) André Gollmer +49.(0) Wolfgang Steubing AG Wertpapierdienstleister Financial Year 01 July to 30 June Offices Goethestrasse Frankfurt Telephone +49.(0) Fax +49.(0) Ballindamm Hamburg Telephone +49.(0) Fax +49.(0) Auditors Supervisory Board Ernst & Young AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Mergenthalerallee Eschborn Frank Wiebols (Chairman) Ernst Neumeier (Deputy Chairman) Christoph Bokelmann DEUTSCHE BÖRSE LISTING PARTNER

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