10/07/2008 - LOTTO: 2007 SALES TURNOVER 300 MILLION EURO (+8%)

Significant growth in all the key markets
and major progress in both the technical segment and leisure segment

Trevignano (Italy), 10 July 2008. - Lotto Sport Italia S.p.A., the leading Italian company in the production and distribution of sports footwear, clothing and accessories, closes 2007 with total sales of 300 million euro and 8% growth, compared with 2006.

2007 has seen the company involved in the launch of some important projects which are the fruits of its Research & Development activities. The most significant of these is the Twist'ngo technology, the first rotating stud applied to a football shoe. Equally important in terms of the brand's development abroad is the signing of the new licensing agreement with Filon Confecções Ltda in Brazil, a high potential market where Lotto is already a protagonist with four teams in the first division and the Brazil Cup victory with Sport Recife. As to the Lotto brand non-core products, the new Watches and Eyewear lines have been added to Cosmetics, Stationery, Underwear and Socks.

An international vocation is a fundamental strategic decision for the company, whose market is distributed as follows: Italy 24%; Europe 40%; America 14%; Asia Pacific region 16%; Africa 3% and Middle East 3%.

Positive growth signs have been recorded in numerous markets: Romania +90%, Bulgaria +68%, Holland +67%, Portugal +24%, Ukraine +19%, Slovenia +18%; Greece +17%, Austria +16%, Spain +15%, Russia +11%, Belgium +7%; in the Americas, South America has enjoyed excellent 25% growth (thanks to Brazil's performance); in Asia overall growth is 15%.

As regards the products, there has been growth in all product categories: footwear accounts for 43% of total sales with 10% growth compared to 2006, clothing 48% (+6%), accessories 6% (+21%). As a whole, football, five-a-side football, tennis and running account for 46%, and the remaining 54% is made up of leisure products.

"Excellent results - states the company's President Andrea Tomat - considering the European market's weak conditions. The forecasts are positive for 2008 as well, however the market conditions will not be particularly encouraging especially in the second half-year, due to the impact of rising energy costs which will have a negative effect on consumers' disposable income. The challenge we need to meet is therefore more and more complex. In the first place the answer lies in realizing increasingly innovative products with increasingly high performance. At the same time the success of Lotto's leisure lines is growing. The market has in fact changed and the company has invested in the realization of new lines intended for leisure wear. The interest Lotto Leggenda has aroused here is extraordinary. Among our other brands, I also expect excellent results for Lotto Works, a line of safety clothing, footwear and accessories which was launched in Italy in 2004 and is now present in the major European markets. At the same time the acquisition of the American brand Etonic in 2006 is now rewarding us with good results in the running and golf category. Just a few weeks ago, we presented our new lines which are the fruits of 18 months of concentrated work in our Research & Development Centre. Despite the structural weakness of demand, we expect a very positive market response to the excellent products which we will present in 2009."

www.lottosport.com