Oberthur Technologies Q1 2008 Sales

Oberthur Technologies Q1 2008 Sales

Strong Increase in Sales at EUR 184.3M, Representing a +13.0% Growth at Constant Rate, +8.8% at Current Rate

H1 Positive Trend Confirmed

PARIS, April 22/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today Oberthur Technologies reported its first quarter 2008
revenue of EUR184.3M representing a year-on-year increase of 13.0% at
constant rate and 8.8% at current rate.

During the first quarter, the card activity posted a +11.6%
strong growth in sales, reaching EUR149.4M. At historical currency exchange
rates, the growth would have reached 16.9%.

115 million microprocessor cards were delivered, a 45%
increase in volume compared to Q1 2007.

- Mobile Communications segment:

Demand in the SIM market was sustained with 71 million SIM
cards delivered during the quarter, a 58% increase compared to the same
period a year ago. Sales in the SIM card sub-segment amounted to
EUR51.5M, up 29% year-on-year.

All regions grew strongly.

In EMEA, demand was high in the Middle East and Africa.

The Americas grew by almost 50% in volume, in particular in
South America with strong demand in Brazil and Peru.

Asia once again experienced strong year-on-year growth. Card
deliveries more than doubled in units compared to the same period a year
go. Again this quarter in Asia, the ASP was stable year-on-year. Migration
towards higher end products is in progress: all 16K cards have been
converted to 32K or higher.

Due to an increasing mix of Asian business, the average
selling price for the segment was down 19% year-on-year, while region per
region the decrease of ASP was in average limited to 9%. Oberthur
Technologies has once again confirmed its strong position in the high-end
segment with 61% of its sales coming from Java product.

The scratch card activity was in slight decrease year-on-year
with sales at EUR4.2M in the first quarter. Volumes were up 5% at 108
million units delivered.

In total, sales in Mobile Communications reached EUR57.4M in
Q1 2008.

- Payment segment(1):

Q1 2008 represented the best quarter ever for the company in
the Payment smart card segment with 8% year-on-year growth in value at
EUR40.5M. 35 million smart cards were sold, a 28% increase in volume
compared to Q1 2007.

The UK & French markets were stable at an already high level.
In Spain, Italy and Switzerland, the company experienced good market
conditions notably thanks to the on-going migration to EMV. In the US,
contactless demand was buoyant: volumes more than doubled compared to a
year ago.

Year-on-year, the ASP decreased by 16% essentially due to the
currency rate impact, in particular US dollar and UK Pound.

With the shift to chip cards, conventional cards sales
decreased by 22% at current rate and by 15% at constant rate compared
to Q1 2007.

Personalization services grew significantly by 11%
year-on-year, with a stronger pace in Europe than in the US.

In Q1 2008, the payment segment amounted to EUR76M, a 3%
increase year-on-year.

- Identity & Security(2) segment:

Quarterly revenue for this product line was up 9.8% at EUR16M.
Volumes of smart cards for the Identity and Security segment increased
by 28% pushed by strong demand in the Pay TV sector, which is also the
main reason for the 24% ASP decrease, year-on-year.

- Fiduciary & Cash Protection:

With sales at EUR32.4M in Q1 2008, the company experienced a
sustained activity in the fiduciary business: Banknotes and security
documents printing demonstrated a good performance. The activity was
particularly sustained in the Americas during the period. Product mix
improved over Q4 2007 and the order book remains strong.

In the Cash Protection segment, Q1 2008 compared unfavourably
to a strong Q1 2007. Some expected renewals in France were postponed
which impacted revenue for the first quarter. Quarterly sales were
booked at EUR3.9M, down 23%.

Oberthur Cash Protection focuses its efforts on geographical
expansion and product range development.

Overall in Q1 2008, sales of Fiduciary and Cash Protection
amounted to EUR36,3M, a 2% increase versus 2007.

Economic results

As expected, the company kept on improving its gross margin in
Q1 2008 compared to Q1 2007. The increase in sales provided additional
operational leverage. EBIT should improve accordingly, compared to last year.

Outlook

The company anticipates good market conditions to continue
over the first half of 2008.

In Q2 2008, Card Systems forecasts sustained demand in the
mobile segment and fair price conditions. The payment activity should remain
at the already good level of Q1.

Q2 activity will remain strong in Fiduciary, operating at good
capacity utilization, while renewal will still be the bulk of Cash Protection
sales.

Public offer for XponCard has been successful. At the end of
the acceptance period extension, Oberthur owns 98.7% of the company. XponCard
shall be consolidated into Oberthur financial statements as of May 1st 2008.

The integration plan has started to be implemented. The
company will exploit as fast as possible all the identified synergies
previously announced.

With its strong organic growth and this acquisition, Oberthur
is now the second largest smart card player in the industry. It has strongly
reinforced its presence in Northern Europe with 5 service bureaus (Sweden,
Norway, Finland, Latvia, and Poland) to be added to the 20 bureaus current
worldwide network.

A powerpoint presentation will be available on the company web site on
Tuesday, April 22nd around 7.00 am.

About Oberthur Technologies

With sales of EUR 733.4 million in 2007, Oberthur Technologies is one of
the world leaders in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high
quality services ensure Oberthur's strong positioning in its main target
markets:

- Smart cards: One of the world's leading providers of security and
identification based on smart card technology and associated services,
such as personalization, for the mobile, payment, identity, digital TV
and transport markets.

- Secure printing: The world's third largest private security printer,
specializing in the production and management of high security products
such as banknotes, passports, and other identity documents, checks and
secured documents in more than fifty countries.

- Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of equipments for
smart cash transportation and ATM protection.

Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrial
and commercial presence across all five continents. Oberthur Technologies
is listed on Euronext Paris.

More information about Oberthur Technologies is available at
http://www.oberthur.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Exhibit

Breakdown of sales in MEUR by card type and geographical region

(According to IFRS norms)

Oberthur Technologies - Breakdown by activities

MEUR Q1 2008 Q1 2007 % Change 2008 /
2007
at current rates
OCS - Mobile
Communications
57.4 45.2 +26.8%

OCS - Payment 76.0 73.9 +2.8%
OCS - Identity &
Security
16.0 14.6 +9.8%

Oberthur 32.4 30.5 +6%
Fiduciary
Oberthur Cash
Protection
3.9 5.1 -23.2%
Other (1.5) 0.1
Total 184.3 169.4 +8.8%

Oberthur Technologies - Breakdown by regions

MEUR Q1 2008 Q1 2007 % Change 2008 /
2007
at current rates

EMEA 120.8 127.8 -5.5%
Americas 48.5 32.3 +50.2%
Asia 15.0 9.3 +60.8%
Total 184.3 169.4 +8.8%

Oberthur Technologies - Card Systems breakdown by products

MEUR Q1 2008 Q1 2007 % Change 2008/ % Change 2008 /
2007 2007
at constant rates at current rates
Microprocessor
cards
105.1 91.1 +19.7% +15.3%

Payment 40.5 37.6 +13.4% +7.7%
Mobile
Communications
51.5 40.0 +32.2% +28.6%
Identity & 13.1 13.5 +0.2% -3.0%
Security
Other Cards 15.2 18.7 -13.5% -19.0%
Services & 29.2 24.1 +29.7% +21.1%
Solutions
Total 149.4 133.9 +16.9% +11.6%

(1) Payment, loyalty & transit

(2) Governmental programs, Health care, Pay-TV...

Oberthur Technologies

Chief Financial Officer
Jean-Michel Guichot
Phone: +33-1-47-64-64-08
Mail: jm.guichot@oberthur.com

Investors / Press Contact:
Stephanie Cau
Tel: +33-1-47-85-56-57
Mail: s.cau@oberthurcs.com

Image 7

Caroline Simon-Phelip
Tel: +33-1-53-70-74-65
Mail: caroline.simon@image7.fr

Tiphaine Hecketsweiler
Tel: +33-1-53-70-74-59
Mail: thecketsweiler@image7.fr

Source: Oberthur Technologies

Oberthur Technologies: Chief Financial Officer, Jean-Michel Guichot, Phone: +33-1-47-64-64-08, Mail: jm.guichot@oberthur.com; Investors / Press Contact: Stephanie Cau, Tel: +33-1-47-85-56-57, Mail: s.cau@oberthurcs.com; Image 7: Caroline Simon-Phelip, Tel: +33-1-53-70-74-65, Mail: caroline.simon@image7.fr; Tiphaine Hecketsweiler, Tel: +33-1-53-70-74-59, Mail: thecketsweiler@image7.fr

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