HIBU.L Regulatory News (HIBU)

20 July 2011

Yell Group Plc ("Yell")

Interim management statement for the quarter ended 30 June 2011

Trading in line with expectations. Strong growth in digital services.

Financial headlines([1])

·; Group revenue of £383.3m was down 11.1%

- Digital services revenues grew 164.9% to £30.2m

- Digital directories (Internet Yellow Pages) revenue fell 7.1% to £89.5m

- Print and other directory (enquiry services) revenues fell 18.5% to £263.6m

·; EBITDA of £109.1m was down £20.2m

·; Free cash flow of £73.3m

·; Net debt £58.3m lower since year end at £2,706.8m

Operational headlines(1)

·; Total digital revenue increased by 11.3%, rising from 25.4% to 31.2% of revenue

- Total digital customers grew 8.1% to 927,000

- Average annual total digital revenue per customer was up by 11.8% to £531

·; Live customer websites increased by 250,000 to 305,000

·; Digital directories visitors declined 29% to 39m

·; Print advertisers were down by 7.9% to 278,000(2)

·; Print revenue per advertiser was down by 8.7% to £839(2)

Mike Pocock, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Trading in the quarter continued in line with recent trends and market expectations. Our new digital services revenues have continued to grow strongly and are now running at an annualised rate of £121m, up 29% from £94m in Q4 of last year. Print trends were broadly unchanged and the weakness in digital directories reported in Q4 has continued. We have continued to take cost out of the business, whilst investing selectively to support future growth. EBITDA and cash flow for the quarter fell, reflecting these points. The Group nevertheless repaid £134.8m of debt, ending the quarter with cash balances of £141.9m. For the full year, EBITDA expectations are unchanged.

Yell has a strong position in the local market place. The new strategy that we announced last week will leverage our assets and those of our partners to capitalise on the convergence of consumer and SME needs in the digital world. Yell intends to become the leading SME digital services provider and will bring consumers and SMEs together to establish a new local online market place ("eMarketplace"). The impact of these initiatives, coupled with cost savings of £100m over the next two years, will return the Group to profitable growth. I look forward to reporting progress on this transformation."

Forward looking statement

This news release contains a forward-looking statement regarding Yell's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, Yell's results of operations, revenue, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, new products, the level of new directory launches and the markets in which Yell operates. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statement is not a guarantee of future performance and involves risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. These factors include any adverse change in regulations, unforeseen operational or technical problems, the nature of the competition that Yell will encounter, wider economic conditions including economic downturns and changes in financial and equity markets. Readers are advised to read pages 16 to 25 in Yell Group plc's annual report for the financial year ended 31 March 2011. Yell undertakes no obligation publicly to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

Risk Statement

Yell's risks and uncertainties include strategic and operational risks faced by Yell's businesses; debt and financing risks faced in funding Group operations and the financial reporting and related risks faced in reporting Yell's results. The new strategic direction for the Group may have a positive influence on these uncertainties. However, there is a risk that in the future the Group would need to reset its financial covenants with, or obtain a waiver from, its lenders, either of which would require a two thirds majority vote.

The financial covenants are disclosed on page 21 of Yell Group plc's Annual Report for the financial year ended 31 March 2011. A discussion of the risks associated with the debt covenants is presented on pages 19 to 21 of Yell's annual report for the financial year ended 31 March 2011, a copy of which is available on Yell's website at http://www.yellgroup.com.

If the Group was required but not able to reset its financial covenants with, or obtain a waiver from, its lenders such that undertakings to the Group's lenders were breached, the lenders' facility agent may, and must if directed by two thirds of lenders (by reference to debt held) demand immediate repayment of all amounts due to them. Whilst this eventuality would, if it arose, cast doubt on the future capital funding of the Group, the Group's cash flow forecasts show that in the twelve months ending 30 June 2012 interest payments will be fully met, with further cash generated to repay debt.

The Group is in full compliance with the financial covenants and undertakings contained in all its borrowing agreements. The Group is cash generative and profitable.

Notes to Editors

Yell Group is a leading provider of digital services within the emerging local eMarketplace for consumers and SMEs across its operations in the UK, US, Spain and some countries in Latin America.

Building on its strong presence in the local market through its current digital and print portfolio, Yell is developing a broad range of digital services tailored to the converging needs of SMEs and consumers.

These address both the SMEs' need to grow, transact and be efficient in the digital world, and the consumers' need to connect locally to the goods and services they want, in a way which saves them time and money, and moves their lives forward.

In the year ended 31 March 2011, Yell Group had 1.3 million SME customers.

Enquiries:

Yell - Investors Yell - Media

Rob Hall Jon Salmon

Tel +44 (0)118 358 2838 Tel +44 (0)118 358 2656

Mobile +44 (0)7793 957848 Mobile +44 (0)7801 977340

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Anthony Carlisle

Tel +44 (0)20 7638 9571

Mobile +44 (0)7973 611888

www.yellgroup.com