Marcolin: quarterly report approved by Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Marcolin SpA, which met yesterday and was chaired by Giovanni Marcolin Coffen, approved the first three-monthly report for 2004.

The first quarter of the year showed a positive reversal of trend compared to 2003, with consolidated billings of 48.9 million euros with an increase of 14% compared to the same period last year.

Compared to the first quarter 2003, despite the strength of the euro against the dollar, the positive sales trend is to be underscored; at constant exchange rates the increase would have been 18%.

The sales analysis by geographical area showed a considerable increase in the Group's billings in the North American market compared to last year's quarterly figure and was equal to 10% (+28% at constant exchange rates); there was also a significant increase in billings on the home front (+22%) and in other European countries (+14%).

Excellent results also by the Dolce&Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli lines, whose billings increased by over 25% compared to the same period of 2003, confirming the market's considerable interest in these lines.

Consolidated gross operating margin (Ebitda) for the first quarter of 2004 was 6.3 million euros (3.7 million at March 31, 2003), which affected billings by 13% (8.6% at March 31, 2003). This significant increase was mainly due to good management results achieved by the parent company, whose Ebitda had considerably improved and passed from 3.6 million euros to 4.7 million euros in the first quarter of 2004, in addition to the improvement in the American subsidiary's gross operating margin which passed from a negative 2.6 million euros at March 31, 2003, to a negative 0.7 million euros at March 31, 2004.

The effect of the ongoing American subsidiary reorganization plan which began in 2003, together with an improvement in Us consumption trends, have confirmed the expectations that emerged at the close of financial year 2003 regarding the possibility of achieving a positive gross operating margin at Marcolin Usa already in 2004.

Group Ebit was 4.4 million euros (1.6 million in the first quarter of 2003), representing 9% of billings (3.8% in the first quarter of 2003).

The period which closed at March 31, 2004, showed a positive consolidated pretax net result of 3.2 million euros (0.5 million euros in the same period of 2003).

The Group's net financial position improved compared to December 31, 2003, standing at 0.7 million euros. The Group's debt/equity ratio was equal to 0.75 against 0.82 at December 31, 2003.

Lastly, the positive results recorded in this first part of the year were also confirmed by the considerable success of the new collections presented at Mido, proving its ability to create original and differentiated collections for the high-fashion houses in particular.

The Board of Directors also:
- appointed Cirillo Coffen Marcolin as Vice President;
- entrusted, within certain limits, directors Giovanni Marcolin Coffen (President), Cirillo Coffen Marcolin and Maurizio Coffen Marcolin with managerial and representation powers. Operational proxies were also conferred on directors Antonio Bortuzzo, who is also General Director, and Sandro Bartoletti, the parent company's Cfo;
-evaluated the eligibility to qualify as independent for non-executive directors such as professor Maurizio Dallocchio, Emanuele Alemagna, attorney, and Dr Enrico Petocchi.

Following the appointment of the new Board of Directors, the new Internal Control Committee and the Remuneration Committee was also appointed and, in both cases, its members are Maurizio Dallocchio, Emanuele Alemagna and Giorgio Drago. The relevant operational regulations were also approved. Again with reference to the corporate governance documents, the administrative body approved the updated internal procedure text for the handling of confidential information.