2003 Sales: +6.3% at constant USD exchange rates ~ US sales up 20%

Growth in sales: +6.3 % at constant USD exchange rates

Sales for Naturex in 2003 stood at EUR 28.1
million, down 5% on the previous year (EUR 29.6
million) as a result of the sharp drop in the dollar
(-17% over the period). At constant USD exchange
rates, however, Naturex sales increased by more
than 6% over the period, reflecting the company's
strong business dynamic.

Strong performance of activities in the US: +20% at USD constant exchange rates

Naturex's operations in North America, which presently account for 48.8% of the entity's sales, enjoyed organic growth of 20% at constant USD exchange rates over 2003.
A strong performance which reflects:

• the successful commercial re-launch of Brucia Plant Extracts (Californian subsidiary of Naturex) following its acquisition in January 2002;
• a buoyant nutraceuticals sector which secured Naturex growth of +30% at constant USD exchange rates over the period. and which will naturally encourage the Group to actively seek out acquisition opportunities in the US, the most dynamic market for its activities.

Outlook

As a company that carries out most of its purchases in US dollars and whose debt servicing is also primarily in dollars, fluctuations in the greenback will have a limited impact on Naturex's results in 2003. In the longer term, a buoyant market combined with the sound competitive positioning of Naturex suggests that the company will enjoy substantial organic growth of between 10 and 15% per year in the years to come. Indeed, the entity's growth of 10% at constant USD exchange rates in Q4 2003 more than confirms the feasibility of the target that the Group has set itself.

Naturex will publish its yearly results on Wednesday April 7, 2004.

ISIN : FR0000054694-NRX
Reuters : NATU.LN
Bloomberg : NTRX

Contacts