CHG-MERIDIAN Group improves first-half results

In the first half of 2006 the CHG-MERIDIAN Group generated lease origination of €283 million, an increase of 8.8 per cent on the first half of last year. Lease origination represents the amount of newly acquired leased assets at cost.

The subsidiaries outside Germany delivered a strong performance. In Belgium, the volume of lease origination grew sharply as a result of last year's acquisition of the CSL Group (CSL Finance S.A. as well as CSL Computer Services and Leasing S.A.). Lease origination in the Spanish, Swiss and Austrian subsidiaries also recorded above-average increases. The proportion of total lease origination generated by the non-German subsidiaries rose to 35 per cent compared to less than 24 per cent in the first half of 2005.

Although the German parent company still accounts for the largest share of total lease origination, the volume it generated in the first half of 2006 fell slightly year on year. The main reasons for this - as in 2005 - were the shortage of big-ticket deals and the continuing fall in the price of IT hardware.

The number of employees in the CHG-MERIDIAN Group grew to 395, a rise of 15.2 per cent compared with the first half of 2005.

The CHG-MERIDIAN Group has subsidiaries in 14 European countries. It has eight branches in Germany, two in the UK and five in France and also operates in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland.

The CHG-MERIDIAN Group is one of Europe's leading non-captive leasing companies specialising in information technology. It offers a full range of services that include flexible financial products and the remarketing of second-hand hardware and software.