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DGAP-News: Tele Atlas N.V. <TA6> english

Tele Atlas revenues up by 8% in first half year

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement.

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PRESS RELEASE

´s-Hertogenbosch, August 6, 2002

Tele Atlas revenues up by 8% in first half year

* EBITDA more than doubles * European business generates operating profit * North American database reaches competitive level

Tele Atlas, a worldwide leading developer in digital geographic databases, realized revenues of EUR 39.5 million for the first half of 2002 (first half 2001: EUR 36.5 million), an improvement of 8% on the comparable period of 2001. Both European and North American activities contributed to the revenue growth. The operating result for the European business grew from a loss of EUR 1.7 million in the first half of 2001 to an operating profit of EUR 0.5 million.

Total operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) increased by 1.8%. As a result of last year´s restructuring and ongoing severe cost control, European costs fell by 11%. In North America, costs increased by 18% as a consequence of the continued build-up of the database. The database covering North America has now reached a more than competitive level.

EBITDA improved from EUR 3.3 million to EUR 7.7 million. EBITDA for Europe rose by 42.5% from EUR 9.4 million to EUR 13.4 million. EBITDA in the United States improved from a loss of EUR 6.1 million to a loss of EUR 5.7 million.

The net loss amounted to EUR 9.5 million. This was due chiefly to the high level of investments for the build-up of the American databases.

Revenues in Europe increased from EUR 30.8 to EUR 33.3 million. As in the first quarter of 2002, 75% of turnover was achieved in the in-car navigation segment. Navigation revenues grew by a modest 11% in the first half of 2002 compared to the same period of 2001 due to lower car sales and the termination of Bosch´s contract with Mercedes. However, the account with SiemensVDO has been renewed and expanded. Improved technical cooperation and joint marketing and distribution activities are expected to result in a significant increase in Tele Atlas´s market share with this important platform. Measured over the first half, the aftermarket grew considerably compared to the same period of 2001, although this market is still affected by the weak economic climate and lower consumer confidence.

GIS and location based service sales were down 6% in the first six months of 2002 compared to the same period of the previous year. However, developments in location based services are becoming a reality and important partnerships have been and are being forged in preparation of the launch of several important services later in 2002 and to a greater extent in 2003. As an example, Wanadoo signed a contract in the second quarter of 2002 with Tele Atlas for various web- based applications. Overall, this segment, although promising for the future, is expected to perform modestly in 2002.At the end of the second quarter, a milestone was reached with the completion of an extensive fieldwork project covering more than 50% of the population of the United States. With this additional information, the database is fully competitive and will be used for the creation of products in different market segments later this year. The database has the highest accuracy currently available in the market. The unique high-density embedded traffic location codes make it possible to derive products with real time traffic information (in cooperation with Westwood One) in 71 metropolitan areas. Market research has demonstrated that the availability of such real time traffic information is a key requirement for both navigation as well as location based service applications in North America. Tele Atlas´s traffic-enabled maps thus give it a competitive edge for the future market development.

George Fink has been appointed president and COO of Tele Atlas´s North American operations as of July 1, 2002. His appointment coincides with the start of a new phase in the development of Tele Atlas North America, as the now fully competitive database will be launched in the different market segments and the partner network will be further expanded and developed. As a result Tele Atlas expects to rapidly gain market share in North America.

OUTLOOK

Despite the growth in revenues in the first six months of 2002, Tele Atlas sees no clear signs yet of a rapid economic recovery and therefore remains cautious with regard to growth for the remainder of 2002. Nevertheless, the company expects to grow its market share in both Europe and North America in the medium term thanks to new and enhanced partnerships in location based services and navigation.

Note for the editor: For further information go to www.teleatlas.com or contact: Jasper Vredegoor, investor relations manager Tele Atlas E-mail: [e-mail] Website: http://www.teleatlas.com

Tele Atlas is a worldwide leader in the production and development of detailed geographic databases, which are used in a broad spectrum of applications. Tele Atlas is actively engaged in the markets for car navigation systems, GIS applications and location based services and telematics. Through their combination of coverage, content and detail, Tele Atlas´s products are the quality benchmark in a highly specialized market.

end of message, (c)DGAP 06.08.2002

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WKN: 927101; ISIN: NL0000233948; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart

Autor: DGAP import (),09:00 06.08.2002

[shoNav]

How can TA claim:
"database covering North America has now reached a more than competitive level"
"the database is fully competitive and will be used for the creation of products in different market segments later this year"

when they say that the database only covers 50% of the US population. NT announced at the end of last year that they had completed detailed full coverage of the entire US market. http://www.navtech.com/Press/09-17-2001-116.html

I suspect that TA is simply talking about a competitive database in regards to the business/fleet market of which they compete against a company called GDT (www.geographic.com) in the US. However, NT also competes in this market so who knows. Maybe TA is just picking and choosing who they wish to compare themselves to.

[Herbergsvater]

@ShoNav

Any hints what Bosch paid for their TA6 shares ?

[Apachenlama]

@ShoNav

By the way: It`s not true what you`re saying.

TA just said that 50% of the US population has been checked by field coverage. This does not not mean that the rest ist not available, it does simply mean it was not checked "on ground".

If NT claims a coverage of 100% this just means coverage, how many % are checked by field workers is not mentioned, maybe it is even less than the 50% of TA!!

APL

[Herbergsvater]

Warum kennt denn niemand den Bosch Einstiegskus in TA6 ?
Ich finde die Frage aus dem damaliegen Chat auch sehr spannend.

Von mir aus kann de Taeye auch gehen. Nachdem ich seinen CV halbwegs kenne denke ich, daß er ein brillianter "software engineer" im Bereich digitaler Geodaten ist. Aber als CEO sollte man einen Strategen haben, der ein "medium enterprise" zum "global player" führen kann !

[shoNav]

@Apachenlama,

I do agree that it is all about claims and careful wording, and in that realm, TA has the edge. They use every little meaning behind every little word to be able to stretch their statements and still have them mean the truth.

You are correct that TA said that 50% of their US coverage had been field verified. They also have said (in the past) that they do not consider an area "competitive" unless it has been field tested.

As far as NT, I believe that they do not consider an area "covered" until it has been driven/field verified, which would mean that 100% of the US has been field verified. However, I have not received any marketing material from the company in quite sometime. Has anybody else? They are ussually pretty good in providing it if you ask.