Press Release

Eckert & Ziegler: Record Levels for Half Year Sales and Earnings

(Ad hoc press release)

Berlin, 14.08.2001. Eckert & Ziegler AG, a medical device specialist for cardio-vascular and oncological brachytherapy, has achieved record sales and earnings levels in the second quarter of 2001. Due to a one time payment of 2.6 Mil. EUR in May, pre-tax results for the half year increased to 4.0 Mil. EUR, nearly three times the amount of the previous year. Revenues for the half year grew by 7.0 Mil. EUR or 75% to 16.2 Mil. EUR. The amount remains significantly above plan, even if it is adjusted for currency gains. The pre-tax result includes irregular depreciations of 641K EUR. Excluding these depreciations, half year operational results would have doubled compared to the previous year from about 1.1 Mil. EUR to 2.0 Mil. EUR. Taken by market segments, revenue growth ranged from 20% in the cardio-vascular area to 120% in the industrial segment. Oncology products grew by 45%, nuclear imaging sources by 65%. Growth rates in the industrial and nuclear imaging segments benefited from an acquisition in June last year. Internal growth without the acquisition are approximately 30% for industrial sources and 10% for nuclear imaging products. The low growth rate in cardiovascular sources is primarily a result of a weak first quarter. In the second quarter sales have increased by 120%. For 2001, the Board is confident to reach revenues slightly above the projected target of 30 Mil. EUR. The expected EBIT of 5.9 Mil. EUR will be met, not considering the launch of the radiopharmaceutical segment. Including the start-up costs for the radio-labelled antibody projects Eckert & Ziegler's earnings per share will be marginally below 1 EUR.

The Board of Directors