Ad-hoc | 30 May 2000 08:14

Ad hoc-Service: Asclepion-Meditec AG AFX_Engl

Ad-hoc Mitteilung übermittelt durch die DGAP. Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist allein der Emittent verantwortlich. —————————————————————————— Datei: qll_290500_dgap_e Datum: 30.05.00 07:31 Erstellt: JB Seite: 1 Successful first half-year for Asclepion-Meditec AG Group sales up by 22% Income before tax (EBT) increased by over 120% High levels of investment in research and development Asclepion-Meditec AG (German securities code number: 531 370), based in Jena, presented its report for the first half of the current financial year today. The company posted sales of Euro 17.7 million (previous year: Euro 14.6 million) and income before tax (EBT) of Euro 1.2 million (previous year: Euro 0.5 million). The result confirms the growth and innovation strategy pursued by the company, believes Bernhard Seitz, Asclepion’s CEO. Focussing the existing sales organization on the Vision business unit is yielding positive results. At 77 percent, the increase in sales here was particularly high. The top selling item is the laser for correcting vision defects, the MEL 70 G- Scan. Just recently the effectiveness of this platform was further enhanced by the addition of the CCA (Cone for Controlled Atmosphere). CCA is a step towards standardization of treatment and paves the way for the use of wavefront diagnostics. Asclepion recently presented highly promising results with this diagnostic procedure which can significantly improve the visual acuity of people with normal vision (>>Eagle Eyes<<). In the Aesthetic business unit (dermatological applications) the company recently concluded the establishment and expansion of its second specialized sales organization at the end of March. This means that, here too, the groundwork has been laid for strong growth in the future. The growth in sales in the Service business unit was much higher than expected. Sales of Euro 2.1 million were posted in the quarter just ended (up from Euro 1.4 million the previous year). From a regional perspective, the sales growth figures in the Americas (+25 percent) and Asia-Pacific (+180 percent) were exceptionally high. In order to further improve its position as technology leader in the market, Asclepion has invested Euro 2.4 million in research and development, up from Euro 1.9 million last year. Representing 13.7 percent of sales this is much higher than the industry average. Asclepion is promoting in particular projects with great growth potential, said Seitz. In addition to >>Super- Vision<< this includes pain-free caries treatment (SaveDent) and the pivotal pole of Asclepion in an innovation project funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). This carries the title >>Ophthalmo-Innovation Competence Center<< and was approved as the only project in Germany in the field of eye treatment. Jena, May 30, 2000 Contact: Asclepion-Meditec AG Investor Relations -Jens Brajer- Pruessingstrasse 41 D-07745 Jena Tel.: (+49) 3641 65-3968 Fax.: (+49) 3641 65-3448 eMail: jb@asclepion.com The mid-year report can be downloaded from the Asclepion- Meditec AG website at www.asclepion.com. Ende der Mitteilung