Ducati Motor Holding Announces 2006 Nine-Month Results

BOLOGNA, Italy, November 14 -- The Board of Directors of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Borsa Italiana: DMH; NYSE: DMH) approved today its financial results for the first nine months of 2006.

Revenues for the first nine months of 2006 were EUR 232.0 million compared to EUR 228.8 million over the same period in 2005, up EUR 3.2 (1.4%). The increase was due to an improved mix in motorbike sales, an increase in apparel and accessories volumes and to sales to MotoGp satellite teams.

On the other hand Spare parts sales decreased because of a lower number of circulating bikes.

Motorbike revenues in the first nine months amounted to EUR 174.0 million, up by 1.8% versus the same period in the previous year. Other Ducati products, spare parts, accessories and apparel, showed a decrease in revenues of 2.7% compared to 2005.

Gross margin at September 30, 2006 was EUR 64.1 million or 27.6% of revenues versus EUR 48.9 million or 21.4% at September 30, 2005 an increase which can be attributed to an improvement in product mix and reduced cost of goods.

EDITDA was EUR 24.7 million or 10.6% of revenues for the first nine months of 2006 against EUR 14.4 million or 6.3% of revenues over the same period last year, mainly due to the improved product mix and reduced cost of goods.

Operating result (EBIT) for the first nine months of 2006 amounted to EUR 9.0 million or 3.9% of sales versus a loss of EUR 7.0 million or -3.0% of sales over the same period of 2005.

At EBT level, the result was a profit of EUR 3.9 million versus a loss of Euro 13.0 million over the same period last year.

Net result for the first nine months 2006 was a loss of EUR 4.6 million compared to a loss of EUR 16.6 million in the first nine months of 2005.

Company net debt at September 30, 2006 was EUR 46.7 million versus EUR 129.9 million at September 30, 2005. Improvement is mainly due to the Capital Increase of 2006.

For the first nine months of 2006, unofficial Ducati registrations were approximately 30,294 up by 2% over the same period last year. Registrations in the US were up by 23%, in the non-subsidiary countries by 10%, in Japan by 1% and in France by 2%, while registrations were down in UK (-18%), Benelux (-13%), Germany (-10%) and Italy (-6%).

The consolidated financial statements as of 30 september 2006 have not been audited.

Federico Minoli, Ducati Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented: "Despite the planned reduction in volumes in terms of sales, we closed the first nine months 2006 with an improved operating margin. We are beginning to see the results of the new strategy. As planned, we increased registrations while reducing sales in order to lower dealers' stock. The main objective for the coming months is to focus sales on high margin models, to continue the stock reduction effort and to successfully prepare for the launch of the new models. On the race track we closed the season with unprecedented successes: World Superbike Champions; 4 wins and 9 podiums in MotoGP. A result no other European manufacturer has ever achieved".

Enrico D'Onofrio, Ducati's Chief Financial Officer added: "The restructuring plan is coming up to expectations. We confirm the targets for 2006, which are revenues in the range of 300 million Euro, EBITDA equal to about 10% of revenues. Net result and financial position will be negative but considerably improving compared to last year".