Lagardère SCA Reports Significant Increase in Sales for Year 2000 First Quarter : +26.4%

Lagardère SCA’s consolidated sales for the first quarter of 2000 totaled 2,969 million Euros (FRF 19,474 million) compared with 2,348 million Euros (FRF 15,401 million) in the corresponding period of 1999, or an increase of 26.4%.

In order to take into account the full transfer of Lagardère SCA’s Matra Hautes Technologies to Aerospatiale and to ease comparisons with 2000, the 1999 figures for the High Technology segment -now represented by a 33% stake in Aerospatiale Matra– were processed on a pro forma basis. Taking this into consideration, the increase in the company’s sales for the first quarter of 2000 amounts to 10,7%.

Excluding changes in Group structure and exchange rates, consolidated sales increased by 6.2% overall.

(*) on a like for like basis.
(**) 33% in Aerospatiale Matra instead of 100% of Matra Hautes Technologies

• In the “Lagardère Médias” segment, sales increased by 8.1% excluding changes in Group structure. Excluding the effect of exchange rate fluctuations, particularly the rise of the US dollar, this increase was reduced to 3.7%.
  The strongest increase was posted by the “Broadcasting, Film and TV production” division. Sales rose in most of the divisions: “Print Media”, “Distribution Services”, and “Multimedia Grolier”.
• The sales increase in “Aerospatiale Matra” stemmed from growing business activities in the “Systems, Services and Telecommunications”, “Groupe Dassault Aviation and other aviation operations”, and “Missile Systems” divisions.
• The “Automobile” segment, again, recorded strong sales growth, confirming the outstanding commercial success of the Espace minivan.