QXL ricardo plc (“QXL” or the “Group”; LSE: QXL.L; Nasdaq: QXLC; Frankfurt: QXL.F), the pan-European online auction company, today announces results for the first quarter ended 30 June 2002.

Commenting on the results Mark Zaleski, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"We have reached a key milestone in the first quarter, with the delivery of local operational profitability in Norway and Poland. I am pleased also with the growth in gross profit of 25% over the previous quarter, which is primarily due to solid growth in transactional revenues and reflects the success of our cost control measures, enhanced customer offering and continued focus on our community. We have continued to reduce our trading loss and expect further cost improvements within the next few quarters as we move further towards overall Group profitability."

First quarter ended 30 June 2002 and Recent Highlights

• Local operational profitability reached in Norway and Poland
  
• Acquisition of Aucland.fr, a leading online auction site in France
  
• Agreement signed with Yahoo! Europe to provide co-branded auctions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden
  
• Exclusive co-branding agreement signed with Manchester United
  
• Gross profit increased 47% to £1.57 million, compared to £1.07 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2001
  
• Transaction volumes increased 37% compared to the quarter ended 30 June 2001
  
• Operating expenses decreased 50% to £4.7 million, compared to £9.6 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2001
  
• Trading loss decreased 63% to £3.1 million, compared to £8.5 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2001

For further enquiries please contact:

QXL ricardo plc
Mark Zaleski, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: 020 7831 3113 on 1 August 2002
Robert Dighero, Chief Financial Officer
Alison Cabot, VP Communications	all other dates: 020 8962 7231
Financial Dynamics
James Melville-Ross	Tel: 020 7831 3113
Juliet Clarke

To view the release in full click here. (PDF 168KB)

To view the release you will need the Acrobat reader. Click here to download the reader.