CENTRALE DEL LATTE DI TORINO & C. S.P.A.: The Shareholders’ Meeting approved the 2010 financial statements.

The Board of Directors for the 2011 – 2013 three-year period was appointed. Luigi Luzzati confirmed as Chairman, Riccardo Pozzoli as Vice Chairman and CEO, and Nicola Codispoti as CEO.

Benedetto De Benedetti was appointed to the Board of Directors from the list presented by the shareholder B&E Equities.

The Shareholders’ Meeting of Centrale del Latte di Torino – a company listed on the STAR division of Borsa Italiana, dealing in the production and sale of fresh milk, milk products and ultra-fresh products – today approved the consolidated financial statements at 31 December 2010.

The Centrale del Latte di Torino Group recorded net consolidated revenue of € 101.3 million at 31/12/2010, up 3% compared to € 98.3 million recorded in the previous FY. In spite of a scenario characterised by a generalised fall in consumption and the use on the part of the main national competitors of special promotional offers on fresh milk to attract customers, the Group has increased its market shares and strengthened awareness of the brands, while at the same time also paying attention to growth in new production sectors, in particular third-party brand production, making use of the productive, organisational and logistic potential offered by the Vicenza facility.

EBITDA for the year stood at € 8.9 million, compared to € 9.5 million of the previous FY. EBIT went from € 3.6 million to € 3 million, while net profit rose from € 800 thousand at 31/12/2009 to € 1 million at 31/12/2010.

The fall registered in profit margins is due, on the one hand, to the rise in milk raw material costs, particularly evident in the fourth quarter of 210, and, on the other, to the increase in charges for utilities – energy, gas and water -, up 6% on the previous year.

In such a complex, difficult scenario, Centrale del Latte di Torino Group, thanks to a strict cost control policy, was able to cope with these increases, keeping the drop in profit margins moderate and maintaining investments in marketing and advertising unchanged in order to support sales of products linked to its own brands.

The net financial position at 31/12/2010 was negative for € 31 million, compared to € -30 million at 31/12/2009.

As regards the results of the parent company Centrale del Latte di Torino & C. S.p.A., net revenue at 31 December 2010 equalled € 59.3 million, compared to € 57.4 million at 31 December 2009 (+3%). EBITDA went from € 6.3 million to € 5.8 million, while EBIT at 31/12/2010 totalled € 3.8 million compared to € 4.4 million of the previous FY. Lastly, from a negative result of € 1.3 million at 31/12/2009, FY 2010 closed with a net profit of € 1.4 million.

The Shareholders’ Meeting also resolved to allocate the profit for the year to cover the loss from FY 2009 and to increase reserves.

As regards forecasts for results in the new FY, the situation remains unfavourable in terms of milk raw material prices. With a view to partially tackling these price increases, the group has raised a number of prices on its own sales price lists, and is pursuing a policy of containing costs and rationalising production, strengthening the presence on the market of its own-brand products.

The Shareholders’ Meeting appointed the new Board of Directors of the company, establishing 11 as the number of members to remain on the Board for three FYs, until the approval of the 2013 financial statements at 31 December 2013.

Benedetto De Benedetti, from the minority list submitted by the shareholder B&E Equities, was appointed to the Board of Directors of the company as a Director. Benedetto De Benedetti, 52, is Chairman of B&E Equities S.p.A. and of IRMET S.p.A. (Istituto Radio Medicina Torino). He was previously Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Synergo SGR S.p.A. and of Industria e Finanza SGR S.p.A., as well as Managing Director of Iniziativa Piemonte S.p.A. (a group holding company).

The new Board of Directors of the company is therefore made up of: Luigi Luzzati, Chairman, Riccardo Pozzoli, Executive Vice Chairman and MD, Nicola Codispoti, MD, Adele Artom, Director, Guido Artom, Independent Director, Antonella Forchino, Director, Ermanno Restano, Director, Luciano Roasio Indipendent Director, Alberto Tazzetti, Independent Director, Germano Turinetto, Independent Director, Benedetto Di Benedetti, Director.

Today the Shareholders’ Meeting also appointed Alberto Solano to the Board of Statutory Auditors, as an Alternate Author, to replace Giovanni D’Amelio.

**** The Board of Director met after the Shareholders’ Meeting, and confirmed Luigi Luzzati as Chairman, Riccardo Pozzoli as Vice Chairman and MD, and Nicola Codispoti as MD.

The Board of Directors also ascertained that the following board members may still be considered independent: Ermanno Restano, Luciano Roasio, Alberto Tazzetti and Germano Turinetto.

The Board of Directors appointed the Internal Audit Committee, composed of: Antonella Forchino, Luciano Roasio, Alberto Tazzetti – independent Directors– and Giancarlo Moretto, entrusting them with activities pertaining to transactions with related parties.

The Board of Directors also set up the Directors’ Remuneration Committee, composed of the independent Directors Guido Artom, Alberto Tazzetti and Germano Turinetto.

Finally, the Board of Directors set up the Supervisory Body to ensure compliance with the Organisation, Management and Control Model, pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 231/2001, composed of the Directors: Antonella Forchino, Luciano Roasio and Alberto Tazzetti, the latter two of whom are independent Directors.

Pursuant to paragraph 2 of article 154-bis of the Consolidated Finance Law, the Executive in charge of drafting corporate accounts, Mr. Vittorio Vaudagnotti, stated that the accounting information herein contained tallies with the company’s documentary evidence, ledgers and accounts.

Contacts:
Barabino & Partners
Donata Astengo
Tel. 010.272.50.48
e-mail: d.astengo@barabino.it

The press release is also available on the website www.barabino.it, where it may be downloaded from the “Breaking News” section. In addition, all the documentation regarding the company (press kit, previous press releases, photographic material, etc.) is available in the section “Online Press Office” of the website.

Turin, 28 April 2011