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Abstract:
- The company's best-ever half-year result

- Delays at Nanostart subsidiary MagForce

- New cleantech investment in Singapore

Nanostart AG publishes 2011 half-year figures

Frankfurt, Germany | Posted on August 4th, 2011

Frankfurt-based nanotechnology investment company Nanostart AG today announced a half-year profit under German GAAP of T€ 1,537 for the first half of 2011 (previous year: T€ 923). This is a 66% increase on the half-year result of the previous year, making it the company's best-ever. In the first half of 2011, key areas of operating activities were expanding the portfolio and preparing for further international expansion. The half-year profit largely stems from other operating income and interest income, less expenses for staff and materials as well as legal and consultancy costs.

Other operating income rose by 31% to €2.19 million in the reporting period. It largely resulted from the off-exchange secondary placement of shares in MagForce AG with a strategic financial investor with a long-term investment horizon. Interest and similar income increased by 14% to T€ 628 in the reporting period (previous year: T€ 549).

The successful disposal of the US holding, BioMicro, initiated with the asset sale to Roche Diagnostics in 2010 will be completed this year. This will generate a further cash inflow for Nanostart in the second half of 2011.

On the cost side, expenses remained stable despite the expansion. Staff costs rose slightly by 10% year-on-year from T€ 321 (30 June 2010) to T€ 353, a trend that is also likely to continue for the year as a whole due to the company's expansion plans. The significant reduction of liabilities from T€ 2,444 (31 December 2010) to T€ 825 (30 June 2011) caused interest expense to fall to T€ 44 in the reporting period (previous year: T€ 222).

In addition, positive developments in the portfolio meant that there was no need for write-downs on financial investments in the first half of 2011 (previous year: T€ 137).

On the other hand, Nanostart's share price declined. This mirrored the negative share price performance of listed holding MagForce AG, which was triggered by temporary delays in launching the NanoTherm therapy for the treatment of brain tumours. The therapy is now available to patients. In July 2011, Charité in Berlin, Europe's biggest university hospital, announced the establishment of the first therapy center for the NanoTherm therapy. MagForce had originally planned to launch the therapy in Germany in the first quarter of 2011. The requirements of future commercialisation of the therapy and in particular it's financing currently form a focus of the work.

In February 2011, Nanostart entered into a new investment in Singaporean cleantech company MINT Membranes Pte Ltd via the Nanostart Singapore Early Stage Venture Fund I. Nanostart holds around 18% of MINT via the fund.

In addition, as part of the international expansion in the current fiscal year, the foundations were laid for Nanostart's market entry in Russia. Nanostart was chosen by Russian joint stock company RUSNANO to launch a €50 million fund in conjunction with RUSNANO and the Perm government. It successfully saw off international competitors in a selection process. The fund, which aims to invest in young nanotechnology companies in the Perm region, is managed by Nanostart AG and is set to commence business operations this year. The final fund contracts have been negotiated over the past few weeks and are now to be submitted to the Supervisory Board for approval.

The half-year financial statements for 2011 are now available on the Investor Relations section of the Nanostart website under "Company Reports". The half-year report will be published on the company's website in a few weeks' time.

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About Nanostart AG
Nanostart AG (OTCQX: NASRY), headquartered in the German financial capital of Frankfurt, is the world’s leading nanotechnology investment company, with portfolio companies spanning the globe from Silicon Valley to Singapore. The company provides venture capital financing for nanotechnology companies in various growth phases with a focus on innovation-driven industries of the future such as cleantech, life sciences and IT/electronics. Through its subsidiary and venture capital fund in Singapore, Nanostart is proud to be the investment partner of the Singaporean government. For further information, please visit www.nanostart.de.

Disclaimer:
This notice constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe to securities. There will be no public offering of securities of Nanostart AG in conjunction with the existing listing of its shares in the “Entry Standard” segment of the regulated unofficial market (Freiverkehr) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This notice does not constitute a securities prospectus. Neither this notice nor the information contained within is intended for direct or indirect distribution within Canada, Australia or Japan.

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Contacts:
Media contact:
Nanostart AG
Dr. Hans Joachim Duerr
Head of Corporate Communications
Goethestrasse 26-28
D-60313 Frankfurt, Germany
phone: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 111
fax: +49 (0)69-21 93 96 150
e-mail:

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