Corporate | 6 July 2004 11:03

Ludwig Beck AG – Continuingly positive sales trend

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– LUDWIG BECK AG: Continuingly positive sales trend – Sales in 1st half-year 2004 significantly up on last year’s figures. Munich, 6 July 2004 – LUDWIG BECK (ISIN DE0005199905) increased its sales significantly in the first six months of 2004, with a gross consolidated Group turnover of EUR43.6; this was 8.0% up on last year’s figure of EUR40.4 million. On sales area adjusted basis too, turnover rose by 0.6% in the first half-year. According to calculations by German trade journal “TextilWirtschaft”, the textile trade is likely to have seen sales drop by 4.0% over the same period. Though the general situation in the sector continued to be marked by sustained consumer reticence, LUDWIG BECK succeeded in clearly bucking this trend by way of its own successful trading. A successful value-for-money campaign in April under the motto “Grüner wird’s nicht” (literally: “No greener than this”) made for high footfall figures and positive customer resonance, likewise contributing to the pleasingly positive operating result. The second half of 2004 is seeing LUDWIG BECK continuing to place emphasis on presenting attractive in-store campaigns, and a cross-company themed event in cooperation with Käfer Feinkost, Munich’s highly respected catering firm, and the LVMH Group is scheduled for September with the aim of increasing footfall and providing an enhanced shopping experience. Together with further increasing sales figures, a package of measures successfully initiated at the beginning of the year towards cutting costs by a total of approximately EUR1 million and stabilizing and improving earnings should ensure a significant improvement in the profit situation at LUDWIG BECK in 2004. The detailed half-yearly report for 2004 will be published on 4 August. Contact: Jens Schott (Investor Relations) Tel. +49 89 23691-798, Fax +49 89 23691-600 Barbara Gruber (Press) Tel. +49 89 23691-669, Fax +49 89 23691-606 end of message, (c)DGAP 06.07.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 519990; ISIN: DE0005199905; Index: Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) und München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg und Stuttgart 061103 Jul 04