Trading Update for the six months to end June 2...
26 /06/2008
IL0010915119
ESPRO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Trading Update for the six months to end June 2008 and a Letter to Shareholders regarding the intention to
withdraw from PLUS Market
Trading Update for Espro for six months to end June 2008
The Board of Espro Information Technologies Ltd (PLUS: ESP), the global provider of audio and multimedia
interpretation systems and content, is pleased to update investors today on a brief trading update for the
first six months of trading in 2008.
The Company has seen revenues in the first six months increase by approximately 30% compared to the
corresponding period in 2007. This brings total revenues for the six months to approximately US$9.0m compared
to the previous year which was US$6.9m. The Company is confident that this period will show a profit compared
to a loss in the corresponding period last year.
The board is also pleased to announce that the Company has secured a new three year contract signed with MoMA
in New York (Museum of Modern Art) .The expected aggregate revenues are estimated to be in the region of
US$2.5 to US$3.0 million during the three year contract. The Company will be installing and supplying the new
audio and multimedia OPUS system to MoMA with over 2,000 Opus handsets units by the end of 2008.
Re: Withdrawal from the PLUS Market
The Board of Espro Technologies Limited would like to inform its shareholders and PLUS Markets of the intention
to withdraw from the PLUS Market. Please find below details of a letter sent out to shareholders today:
TO
The Shareholders of Espro Information Technologies Ltd. (the "Company")
Dear shareholders,
Re: Withdrawal from the PLUS Market
The Company hereby announces its intention to withdraw from PLUS Market (previously OFEX), for the
reasons explained below.
The original rationale for listing the Company's shares on PLUS Market (in year 2005) was to allow the
Company to raise capital and continue developing its international profile in order to further develop its
global business. In particular, the listing facilitated the Company's purchase of one of its major competitors
- Acoustiguide Corporation, in 2005, an acquisition for which the Company raised capital from various
investors, including English investors.
However, due to the extremely limited trading volume of PLUS Market, the Company's shares suffer from
poor liquidity which does not create a true commercial trading platform for the shareholders, and which does
not, in the view of the Company's Board of Directors, generate the desired shareholder benefit. The Company's
shares trade at a low price, which does not, in the Board's view, reflect the true value of the group's
business and assets. The insignificant trading volume in the Company's shares no longer justifies maintaining
this trading platform in light of the expenses and management attention that the listing requires.
In addition, the current low price of the Company's shares places a burden on the Company in its
efforts to develop alternative strategic business plans and impairs the Company's ability to consummate plans
which we feel could generate value to the Company's shareholders.
For these reasons, it is evident that the Company's listing on PLUS market has become more a liability
than an asset, and no longer serves a valid interest or purpose. Consequently, the board of directors of the
Company has resolved that the Company withdraw from the PLUS Market at the close of business on Monday, August
4th 2008 after the Company's EGM, thus becoming a private company as a result of no longer being traded on a
public market. Any shareholder wishing to execute transactions with respect to his shares following the
delisting can contact the Company for assistance regarding the required procedure.
UNDER THE PLUS RULES, ESPRO IS REQUIRED TO GIVE SHAREHOLDERS A PERIOD OF 10 BUSINESS DAYS TO OBJECT TO THE INTENDED WITHDRAWAL OF ITS SHARES FROM THE PLUS MARKET. ANY SHAREHOLDER WISHING TO RAISE AN OBJECTION SHOULD CONTACT PLUS IN CONFIDENCE BY THURSDAY, JULY 10th 2008.
For further information please contact the Company's CFO - Mr. Nadav Karni (nadavk@espro.com).
Yours faithfully on behalf of Espro's board of directors,
Richard Stone, Chairman
Espro Information Technologies
The Directors of the Issuer accept responsibility for this announcement.
Contact Details:
Espro Information Technologies Ltd Tel: + 972 9 7634400
Israel Gal, CEO
Nadav Karni, CFO
About Espro Information Technologies Ltd
Espro is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of multi-lingual audio and multimedia content and hand
held interpretive systems that are used in museums, cultural and visitor centres, walking tours and trade shows
worldwide. The client base of the Group includes over 450 active sites, and comprises some of the world's best
known museums and heritage sites, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Orsay Museum and the
Rodin Museum in Paris, the Imperial War Museum in London, the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, the State Hermitage
Museum in St. Petersburg, the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Royal Museums
of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the International Antarctic
Center in New Zealand, the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) and the
Forbidden City in Beijing. The Group employs approximately 90 full-time staff in 8 subsidiaries worldwide. For
further information, please visit the Group website at www.espro.com.
END
ESPRO Information Technologies Ltd