Today Rilken S.A. publishes the first quarter results of 2004. The company realized net sales of 6,667 T EURO and profit before taxes of 755 T EURO.

Rilken sales Q1 2004 were 6,667 T EURO, up 3.5% vs first quarter of 2003.

Domestic sales show an 11% increase, whereas export sales decreased temporarily following the distribution changes in some countries.

Gross profit of the Company improved by 8 percentage points in comparison with Q1 2003, moving from 59% to 67% of Sales. This improvement is mainly attributable to product mix and cost of sales decreases, caused by the discontinuation of the prior year mark-up incorporated in the inventories.

The operating expenses of the Company increased by 3.7% due to the implementation of a restrictive expense policy despite the inflationary pressure and without cutting back the advertising support of the products. Provisions for bad debt increased due to the gradual implementation of IFRS. In spite of this, profits before taxes amount to 755 TEUR in Q1 2004, this represents a 66% increase vs Q1 2003.

The Rilken Group, consisting of Rilken SA and its retail distribution company Schwarzkopf & Rilken Hellas S.A, recorded consolidated net sales of 7.6 M Euro, which are on the level of the corresponding period of last year.

Operating profits of the Group increased by 301 T EURO to 836 T EURO due to the above mentioned reasons. Consolidated profits before taxes also increased by 60% vs last year and reached 796 T EURO.

Rilken S.A. is an Athens based manufacturer and trader of cosmetics, specialised in hair care products. The Company is a member of the Henkel Group which is the majority shareholder of Rilken S.A. via its subsidiary Henkel Hellas S.A.

The financial statements of Rilken S.A. for the first quarter of 2004, including the consolidated financial statements, will be published on 27th May 2004.