Lagardère SCA Reports Significant Increase in Sales for the First Three Quarters of 1999 : + 15.8%

For the first three quarters of 1999, Lagardère reported consolidated sales of 8,684 million Euros (FF 56,963 million), an increase of 15.8% over sales of 7,501 million Euros (FF 49,205 million) for the first three quarters of 1998.

In order to take into account the full transfer of Lagardère SCA’s Matra Hautes Technologies to Aerospatiale and to ease comparisons with 1999, the 1998 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 three quarters amounts to 7.3%.

Excluding changes in Group’s structure and the effects of exchange rates, the increase amounted to 4.6 %.

_{*33% of Aerospatiale Matra instead of 100% of Matra Hautes Technologies.
** Excluding changes in Group’s structure and the effects of exchange rates.}

Following is a breakdown of the Company’s sales by sector, excluding changes in Group’s structure and the effects of exchange rates:

• Strong sales in Lagardère Medias resulted mainly from strong performance in digital activities (Audiovisual and Multimedia/Grolier divisions). The Print Media and Distribution Services divisions also contributed to sales growth. During the first three quarters of 1999, the main changes in Lagardère Medias’ structure include the purchase of the Japanese and Italian magazine publishing companies Fujin-Gaho and Rusconi and the sale of the outdoor advertising company Affichage Giraudy, previously part of the Audiovisual division.
• The Automobile business posted moderate sales increases, building on the considerable growth experienced in the first three-quarters of 1998 and confirming the commercial success of the Espace minivan.
• The growth in High Technologies sales resulted mainly from the strong performance of the Airbus and Helicopters divisions. Sales in the Missile system and Dassault Aviation divisions decreased, as previously announced.

LAGARDERE (Bloomberg: MMB.FP, S&P: LGDDY) is a premier media company seeking to leverage its powerful brands and strong content through its increasingly prominent digital media presence in order to capitalize on the rapidly growing arena of e-commerce. LAGARDERE owns several digital television channels and radio stations, is a leading Internet Service Provider in France and is rapidly developing thematic portals. The Company is also a worldwide leader in magazine publishing and press distribution. The Company publishes more than 200 magazines in 33 countries. Its high profile titles include: Elle, Woman’s Day, Car and Driver, George and many others.

The company also owns a 33% equity stake in AEROSPATIALE MATRA, the second largest aerospace and defense company in Europe. Recently, AEROSPATIALE MATRA and DASA (a unit of DAIMLERCHRYSLER) reached an agreement to create the third largest aerospace company worldwide. This new Franco-German company will be called EADS (European Aeronautic, Defense & Space). LAGARDERE will own ~15% of EADS, and co-manage it with DASA.