Intersonic Advanced Technologies (former Despec Holdings) FY2003 consolidated turnover increased 17.4% reaching 138.7 million euros as compared to 118.1 million euros in FY2002. During the same period, FY2003 consolidated EBT after minorities grew 610.3 % to 7.8 million euros vs. 1.1 million euros in 2002.

The merger took place via Intersonic?s absorption by Despec Holdings, its former parent company. 1H2003 transformation balance sheets depict the absorption which preceded the merger. The FY2003 financial statements that include the absorption as a first step before the merger are comparable neither to FY2002 nor to the fiscal years that will follow. However the company is obliged to publish them. According to those, 1H2003 results of the absorbed Intersonic were capitalized on to the new company's equity.

As a result Intersonic Advanced Technologies consolidated FY2003 EBT after minorities was at 4.484 million euros (up 310%) and consolidated turnover amounted to 130.5 million euros, up 10.37%. We should note that when we refer to our results we always refer to the comparable results unless noted differently.

The significant increase in consolidated FY2003 earnings is mainly attributed to the core business growth of the absorbed Intersonic i.e. the production and packaging of digital storage media and secondly to both the decrease in the minority rights due to the merger and the significant decrease in the administrative expenses by 11.4%. During the same period, FY2003 consolidated EBITDA amounted to 15.4 million euros vs. 3.9 million euros in FY2002.

It is significant to mention that during FY2003 the group's short-term liabilities increased to 106 million euros from 90.5 million euros y-o-y, mainly due to the large investment made by OMP Europe (Intersonic's 100% subsidiary) in Thiva, Greece. OMP Europe erected the largest European factory in the production and packaging of digital storage media. The new production unit has been active since the fall of 2003. The particular investment was subsidized and during the current fiscal year the group expects to furthe decrease its liabilities due to the subsidies that it expects to receive. At the same time, the group has proceeded to convert part of its short-term debt to long-term debt. Due to this investment, depreciation charges for FY2003 reached 4.6 million euros vs. 1.96 million euros y-o-y.