Grupo Casa Saba Announces Third Quarter 20...( Operating Income and Operating Inco...),Health

Operating Income and Operating Income plus Depreciation and Amortization

Increased 2.96% and 4.71%, Respectively

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grupo Casa Saba ("Saba", "GCS", "the Company" or "the Group"), one of the leading Mexican distributors of pharmaceutical products, beauty aids, personal care and consumer goods, general merchandise, publications and other products announced today its consolidated financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2007.

(All figures are expressed in millions of pesos as of September 30, 2007. Comparisons are made with the same period of 2006, unless otherwise stated. Figures may vary due to rounding practices. "bp" stands for basis points.)

Financial Highlights:

- Sales in the quarter amounted to $5,821.95 million

- Gross income rose 1.70%

- Gross margin in the quarter was 9.27%

- Operating expenses in the quarter increased by 0.93%

- Operating income increased by 2.96%

- Operating margin was 3.56%

- Net income was $184.21 million, an increase of 13.57%

- Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period was $368.34 million

QUARTERLY RESULTS

NET SALES

In the third quarter of 2007, GCS sales totaled $5,821.95 million, an increase of 0.33%.

Our divisions of Government Pharma and Health, Beauty, Consumer Goods, General Merchandise and Others grew by 7.15% and 2.98%, respectively, versus the third quarter of 2006. The growth in Health, Beauty, Consumer Goods, General Merchandise and Others division was due to greater volume sales, which offset a lower average unit price. In the case of the Government Pharma division, the increase in sales reflects a higher participation in bidding processes during the quarter.

Publications sales declined 1.53% due to lower prices, despite the fact that the number of items sold increased 10.10%. Sales in the Private Pharma division decreased marginally,
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