SYSTEMS

MUNICH, GERMANY -- Fujitsu Siemens Computers ends the 2001/2002 financial year (ended 31 March 2002), with a profit higher than forecast at its CeBIT 2002 Press Conference. The leading European IT manufacturer has achieved a profit turnaround of Euro 100 million compared to the previous financial year, ending its second complete financial year since the merger with a pre-tax profit of Euro 29 million. Key drivers in achieving this profitable result were the company's consistent focus on the strategic areas of Mobility and Business Critical Computing (BCC) resulting in a larger share of high value products and Professional Services. Effective cost and asset management also had a positive impact. At the CeBIT 2002 press conference the company had announced a profit forecast of Euro 10 million pre-tax. The improvement of the numbers compared to the CeBIT forecast was due to stronger than expected sales in March, tight management of inventories at the year-end and a one-time impact of Euro 11 million resulting from a mandatory change in accounting policy (capitalization of development expenditure under Dutch GAAP*). Fujitsu Siemens Computers' profit turnaround is particularly impressive when viewed against the backdrop of a European IT hardware market which has suffered significant losses in 2001, resulting in reduced turnover and profit for most manufacturers. Poor market conditions also impacted on Fujitsu Siemens Computers' revenue, which at Euro 5.4billion was 8% below the previous year's figure of Euro 5.9 billion. "Perhaps we were overly cautious in our forecast but in a difficult market, with shrinking revenues, we have achieved a successful profit turnaround", explained CEO Adrian v. Hammerstein. "This shows that we are on the right track with our strategic direction. We will consistently pursue this strategy in the coming financial year and beyond." Growth ahead of the market in the next fiscal year Fujitsu Siemens Computers expects to see revenue growth ahead of the IT hardware market in the 2002/2003 financial year. The leading European computer manufacturer aims to grow in the areas of Mobility and BCC, as analysts predict that these sectors will experience above-average growth rates compared to the overall IT hardware market. Hammerstein continued: “Signs of a recovery in the business environment are not yet tangible and so our growth will have to come from areas where customers are still investing and from growing our market share, for example in the SME segment.” To achieve this, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has made sizeable investments to address the market for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). In order to develop its share of this market, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has invested Euro 10 million in its channel strategy and has established a new European-wide co-operation with leading distributors Tech Data and Ingram Micro. One of the key investments of the channel strategy is in eBusiness infrastructure, which will provide efficient communication links between Fujitsu Siemens Computers and its channel partners. For further information visit www.fujitsu-siemens.com.