Ad-hoc | 3 February 2004 14:04

DEWB AG: 2003 business year

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– 2003 business year DEWB increases sales to 30.7 million euros; positive operating result Average five-year return on DEWB’s investments has increased to 41% p.a. Shareholders’ equity up by 22%; marked reduction in liabilities Number of shares in free float doubles to over 24% DEWB AG (Deutsche Effecten- und Wechsel-Beteiligungsgesellschaft) increased sales by 11% to 30.7 million euros in 2003 (2002: 27.7m euros). The proceeds mainly came from the sales of the stake in 7 investments. In this process DEWB used virtually the entire range of exit channels – e.g. trade sales, buybacks as well as sales of securities – and also profited from the rising valuation of the technology sector. The realised investments sales made significant contributions to the result. EBITDA for 2003 is 7.3 million euros (2002: 0.2m euros). Value adjustments of 7.3 million euros, which were applied to several early-phase investments as well as securities, had a negative impact on the result. These adjustments, however, were significantly lower than in 2002 (19.3m euros). DEWB reports a small positive EBIT for 2003 (2002: -19.3m euros). After tax and interest this gives a net loss of minus 1.6 million euros (2002: -22.2m euros) which corresponds to earnings per share of minus 0.12 euros (2002: -1.96 euros). Taking a long-term view, DEWB is one of the most profitable European investment companies with an average annual return on investments of 41% (five-year IRR). In 2003 DEWB significantly improved its balance sheet structure. The shareholders’ equity rose by 22% to 37.4 million euros, which corresponds to 2.83 euros per share. Liabilities fell by 8.0 million euros to 65.6 million euros. DEWB’s liquid funds rose substantially amounting to 17.5 million euros or 1.32 euros per share at the end of the year. The main reason for this clear improvement in the ratio is the successful placement of the capital increase in December 2003. This has also improved the attractiveness of the DEWB share: the number of shares held in free float more than doubled to 24.3%, strongly improving the tradability of the share. The full 2003 annual report of DEWB AG will be presented at the balance sheet press conference on 17 March 2004 in Frankfurt am Main. Contact: Steffen Schneider, Investor Relations, Phone/Fax: ++49 3641 65 2290/2157, E-Mail: steffen.schneider@dewb-vc.com, Internet: http://www.dewb-vc.com end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 03.02.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 804100; ISIN: DE0008041005; Index: Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) und Freiverkehr in Stuttgart 031404 Feb 04