BIC Group - 2nd Quarter and 1st Half 2009 Results

Regulatory News:

BIC (Paris:BB):

• H1 2009 NET SALES UP 0.1% AT CONSTANT CURRENCIES AT 713.1 MILLION EUROS
• NORMALIZED¹ H1 2009 IFO MARGIN: 15.3%
• H1 2009 GROUP NET INCOME UP 0.1% AT 70.6 MILLION EUROS
• H1 2009 NET CASH POSITION: 149.2 MILLION EUROS

Highlights

• Stationery H1 2009 total net sales: 319.9 million euros (-9.6% at constant currencies)

Consumer business down 5.4%

• Office Products channel hit hardest by the economic downturn, suffering larger declines than the retail market in both Europe and North America
• Back-to-school shipments delayed by many retailers in their ongoing effort to control inventory
• Continued strong performance in South America, but partially offset by declines in Mexico where the economic crisis has been particularly harsh

Promotional Imprinted Business – BIC Graphic down 24.7%

• Continued sales decline in all regions

• Lighters H1 2009 total net sales: 192.4 million euros (+5.8% at constant currencies)

• As anticipated, flat Q2 after a very strong Q1
• Continued market share gains in the U.S. and Latin America

• Shavers H1 2009 total net sales: 129.8 million euros (+2.8% at constant currencies)

• Good second Quarter with a positive trend for our triple-blade one-piece business most notably in Latin America

• H1 2009 normalized Income From Operations: 109.1 million euros (+4.1%)
• H1 2009 normalized IFO margin: 15.3% compared to 14.9% in H1 2008

• Lower production volume negatively impacted Gross Profit
• Decrease of brand support relative to higher spending last year and control of Operating Expenses offset the Gross Profit impact

• H1 2009 reported Income From Operations (IFO): 100.8 million euros (-0.3%)

• -18.6 million euros expenses related to the cost reduction plan launched in April 2009
• +10.3 million euros of negative goodwill related to the acquisition of APP (Antalis Promotional Products)

• H1 2009 normalized EPS up 4.6% at 1.58 euros
• H1 2009 net cash position: 149.2 million euros

• Improvement driven by inventory reduction, lower CAPEX investments and decrease of trade receivables compared to H1 2008

2009 Outlook

For the balance of the year, our top-line objective is to continue to leverage our strengths in order to increase our market shares in all categories. We will remain focused on cost control and working capital improvement in order to protect cash generation.

Mario Guevara, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Despite the slowdown of our key markets, our top-line showed good resilience during the first half as we were able to maintain or grow our market share in most categories and geographies. After a weak 1^st Quarter, we improved our profitability during the 2^nd Quarter. This good performance has been driven by our ongoing efforts to reduce costs and manage our company to capture the opportunities to create sustainable long-term value.”

Key figures

Group Key figures

BIC Group H1 2009 net sales were 713.1 million euros, compared to 700.5 million euros in H1 2008, up 1.8% as reported, up 0.1% at constant currencies and down 2.3% on a comparative basis. For the second Quarter, net sales were 404.7 million euros, up 3.1% as reported, +0.7% at constant currencies and down 3.4% on a comparative basis.

Total consumer business operations increased 1.3% at constant currencies during the first Half of 2009 while the Promotional Imprinted Business decreased 24.5% on a comparative basis and -7.8% at constant currencies (including Antalis Promotional Products).

H1 2009 foreign currency fluctuations had a positive impact of 1.7%, of which +4.6% was due to the increase of the U.S. Dollar offset by the decrease of Latin America currencies, the British pound and some Eastern Europe currencies.

The H1 2009 gross profit margin decreased 1.8 points to 47.2% of sales versus 49.0% in H1 2008, negatively impacted by higher production costs due to lower sales volume and continued reduction of inventories.

H1 2009 Income From Operations decreased 0.3% as reported to 100.8 million euros. The H1 2009 reported IFO margin was 14.1% compared to 14.4% in H1 2008.

H1 2009 IFO includes exceptional items:

• -18.6 million euros expenses related to the cost reduction plan launched in April 2009;
• +10.3 million euros of negative goodwill related to the acquisition on APP (Antalis Promotional Products).

Excluding these impacts, H1 2009 normalized IFO would have been 109.1 million euros compared to 104.8 million euros in H1 2008. H1 2009 normalized IFO margin is 15.3% compared to 14.9% for the same period last year. The decrease of brand support and the control of Operating Expenses offset the decline of the Gross Profit margin.

Income before tax decreased 2.5% as reported to 103.6 million euros. Finance revenues decreased 2.3 million euros compared to H1 2008 due to the lower net interest income along with less favourable FX impact compared to the same period last year. Tax rate was 33.0% compared to 33.6% in H1 2008.

H1 2009 Group net income was 70.6 million euros, a 0.1% increase as reported. H1 2009 Group net income includes 1.2 million euros from income from associates (Cello Pens). Earnings per share (EPS) were 1.47 euros in H1 2009, compared to 1.45 euros in H1 2008, up +1.4%. Normalized EPS grew 4.6% at 1.58 euros compared to 1.51 euros in H1 2008.

At the end of June 2009, net cash position was 149.2 million euros, compared to 61.5 million euros as of June 30, 2008 and 210.6 million euros as of December 31, 2008.

H1 2009 cash generation benefited from a strong improvement in working capital (inventories: -31 million euros compared to H1 2008 and trade and other receivables: -15 million euros compared to H1 2008) and lower CAPEX investments (25 millions euros in H1 2009 vs. 42 million euros in H1 2008).

Net cash position is impacted by the investments related to the partnership with Cello for 63.1 million euros, Antalis Promotional Products (APP) for 32.4 million euros and dividend payment for 65 million euros.

Stationery

H1 2009 Stationery net sales decreased 8.2% as reported and -9.6% at constant currencies. Q2 2009 net sales were down 6.4% as reported and -8.7% at constant currencies

Consumer business:

H1 2009 Consumer business net sales declined 5.4% at constant currencies (-4.7% in Q2 09).

In Europe and North America, net sales continued to be affected by the decline of the Office Products channel. The Retail channel performed better. However, in the Retail channel, some back-to-school shipments are being delayed as retailers exercise caution due to uncertainty regarding consumer spending forecasts.

For the full year 2009, performance in the retail channel will be a function of consumer spending patterns during the back-to-school season; the office channel is not expected to recover before 2010.

Total Latin America performed well during H1 2009 despite a slowdown in Q2 compared to Q1. Mexico continued to be affected by the economic situation in the USA, intensified by the impact of the swine flu epidemic.

BIC Graphic – Promotional Imprinted business:

Our promotional imprinted products business (BIC Graphic) continued to be negatively impacted by the reduction of companies’ discretionary spending and the decline of the writing instrument promotional business in the U.S. H1 2009 net sales decreased 24.7% at constant currencies, in line with industry trends.

The Stationery normalized IFO margin was 11.6% in H1 2009, compared to 14.9% in H1 2008 with Gross Profit affected by:

• Lower net sales in both Consumer and Graphic business;
• Lower production volumes and continuous reduction of inventories in the Consumer business.

Lighters

H1 2009 Lighter net sales increased 8.9% as reported and +5.8% at constant currencies. Q2 2009 net sales were up 3.4% as reported and down 0.5% at constant currencies.

In Europe, H1 2009 net sales grew slightly driven by strong volumes in Q1.

In North America sales increased mid-single digit as we increased our market share.

In Latin America, H1 2009 net sales benefited from continued market share gains and the performance of Southern hemisphere countries, while Mexico sales continued to be soft, suffering from the economic crisis in the USA.

The Lighter normalized H1 2009 IFO margin increased by 3.8 points to 33.5%, benefiting from the decrease of brand support (Child-Resistant regulation advertising campaign) and higher absorption of OPEX.

Shavers

H1 2009 Shaver net sales increased 4.1% as reported and +2.8% at constant currencies. Q2 2009 net sales were up 6.1% as reported and +4.6% at constant currencies.

The overall wet shaver market has decreased slightly since the beginning of 2009. Disposables are flat, while Systems experienced small decreases.

BIC H1 2009 shaver sales performance was driven by a good second Quarter.

Europe decreased low single digit.

In North America, sales also decreased low single digit in a depressed economic climate. Despite the harsh climate, our new Soleil^® Bella 4-blade product showed positive early signs.

Latin America was our strongest performing region due to continued growth of our triple-blade one-piece business.

The Shaver normalized IFO margin was 8.0% in H1 2009 compared to 0.1% in H1 2008. This improvement is mainly due to the sales increase and lower advertising expenses when compared to the same period last year.

Other Products

H1 2009 other products net sales increased 40.2% as reported, +39.4% at constant currencies and +7.3% on a comparative basis. Q2 2009 net sales were up 63.8% as reported, +62.8% at constant currencies and +5.6% on a comparative basis.

Consumer business:

"Other Products” consumer business net sales increased 13.6% on a comparative basis at the end of June, driven by the distribution of phone cards in France.

Promotional Products:

"Other Products” Promotional Products business continued to be affected by the slowdown of the industry in Europe and in the U.S. and decreased 16.5% on a comparative basis.

Full year 2009 outlook and operational trends

For the full year 2009, we confirm our objectives to gain market share in all categories and continue to focus on protecting cash generation.

By category, we expect the following operational trends:

• In Stationery Consumer, we expect that the Office Products channel will not recover before 2010. Retail channel sales will be subject to back-to-school consumer takeaway in North America and Europe, which could impact year-end reorders.
• Stationery Promotional Products performance should be in line with H1 2009 trends.
• In Lighters, second Half of 2009 net sales should be flat compared to last year at constant currencies.
• In Shavers, full year 2009 net sales growth at constant currencies is likely to be in line with H1 2009 levels.

BIC Group net sales change by geography

Impact of change in perimeter and currencies fluctuations

IFO and Normalized IFO by categories

Condensed Profit and Loss Account

Condensed Balance Sheet

Cash flow statement

Glossary

• At constant currencies: Constant currency figures are calculated by translating the current year figures at prior year monthly average exchange rates.
• Comparative basis: at constant currencies and constant perimeter.
• Normalized IFO: normalized means excluding restructuring, real estate gains and APP (Antalis Promotional Products) negative goodwill.

This document contains forward-looking statements. Although BIC believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, these statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.

A description of the risks borne by BIC appears in section "Risks and Opportunities” of BIC "Reference Document” filed with the French financial markets authority (AMF) on 31 March 2009.

A presentation related to this announcement is available on BIC web site: www.bicworld.com, headline Investor Relations.

2009 Agenda

About BIC

BIC is a world leader in stationery, lighters and shavers. For more than 50 years, BIC has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable products to consumers everywhere. Through this unwavering dedication, BIC has become one of the most recognized brands in the world. BIC products are sold in more than 160 countries around the world. In 2008, BIC recorded net sales of 1,420.9 million euros. The Company is listed on "Euronext Paris”, the SBF120 and CAC Mid 100 indexes. BIC is also part of the following SRI indexes: FTSE4Good Europe, ASPI Eurozone and Ethibel Excellence Europe.

For more information, please consult the corporate web site: www.bicworld.com

¹ See glossary page 10

² Normalized IFO excludes Stypen restructuring in H1 2008 and expenses related to the cost reduction plan announced in April plus APP (Antalis Promotional Products) negative goodwill in H1 2009.