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Grupo Imsa Announces Fourth Quarter 2005 Results

MONTERREY, Mexico--Feb. 20, 2006--Grupo Imsa, S.A. de C.V. (BMV:IMSA) today announced results for the fourth quarter of 2005. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are presented in millions of December 31, 2005 pesos (Ps), or in millions of nominal U.S. dollars(a) (US$). Fourth Quarter 2005 Highlights

-- After the restructuring announced in September 2005, this is the first quarter for which Grupo Imsa is posting results under the new organizational structure with two business segments: IMSA ACERO and IMSATEC.

-- Once the spin-off of Grupo Imsa comes into effect, which is expected to occur in March 2006, the information presented on Grupo Imsa, S.A. de C.V. will correspond only to the IMSA ACERO segment of this report. All information presented on Verzatec, S.A. de C.V. will correspond to the IMSATEC segment.

-- Fourth quarter 2005 primary cash flow (EBITDA) grew considerably for the third consecutive quarter, rising quarter-over-quarter in dollar terms by 36.9% to US$141 and in pesos by 40.5% to a total of Ps 1,546.

-- IMSA ACERO's sales volume, which totaled 837 thousand tonnes, grew 25.2% compared to fourth quarter 2004 and 5.2% vs. the previous quarter.

-- For fourth quarter 2005, IMSA ACERO posted a historic maximum EBITDA in dollar terms of US$125, representing a growth of 23.8% compared to fourth quarter 2004 and 34.4% vs. the previous quarter.

-- Fourth quarter 2005 revenues in dollar terms totaled US$945, an increase of 11.2% compared to the same period of 2004. In peso terms, revenues grew 4.1% year-over-year and 2.1% quarter-over-quarter to Ps 10,229.

-- As a result of Grupo Imsa's ongoing efforts to enhance operating efficiency, operating expenses as a percent of sales declined from 8.3% in 2004 to 7.8% in 2005, while operating expenses in peso terms fell 2.0% in 2005.

-- Net interest coverage defined as primary cash flow (EBITDA) divided by net interest expense was 16.7 times for the twelve months ended December 31, 2005, while the total debt to EBITDA ratio for the same period was 1.02.

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