WORLD'S BEST COMPANIES

AIRLINES

Ryanair

CEO: Michael O'Leahy

Despite a setback in the French courts recently over aid from local governments, Ryanair is by far Europe's most successful airline. CEO Michael O'Leahy's abrasive management style wins him few friends, but Ryanair has the lowest costs and the strongest balance sheet in the industry. Net profit increased by 59% to euro239.4 million for the financial year that ended in March, and the company is expected to grow at 25% a year for the next six years.

www.ryanair.com

AUTOMOTIVE

BMW

Chairman and CEO: Helmut Panke

This German titan has a higher market capitalization than General Motors even though it sells a quarter as many cars. The reason is simple: BMW is enormously successful at convincing customers to pay more for its products. The company is no laggard when it comes to innovation, however. Having revitalized the Mini brand, its attention is now focused on a new Rolls-Royce model, the first to be launched since BMW acquired the brand.

www.bmw.com

BEVERAGES

Diageo

CEO: Paul Walsh

The world's largest wines and spirits group took a huge hit from its sale of Burger King, but, excluding exceptionals, pre-tax profits climbed 7%, to L2.16 billion, in the year ended June 2003. The company is confident that its major market of North America is in line for strong growth, and analysts are united in believing that Diageo will benefit from a renewed focus on its drinks business now that it has offloaded Pillsbury and Burger King.

www.diageo.com

CHEMICALS

BASF

Chairman: Jurgen Hambrecht

BASF continues to perform well and recently announced that EBIT before special items for the first half of 2003 was almost euro1.8 billion, or 8.3% higher than in the same period of 2002. All operating divisions were in the black largely as a result of a wide-ranging cost-reduction program. Had it not been for the weak dollar sales, earnings would have been higher still.

www.basf.com

COMPUTER HARDWARE

Logitech

President and CEO: Guerrino De Luca

In April this US/Swiss firm closed a fifth consecutive year of record sales and record profitability. The computer-peripherals-maker posted $1.1 billion in revenue, a 17% increase on 2002. Operating income was $124 million-27% higher than 2002-and net income of $99 million was 32% up on last year. Although the company has suffered from lower margins on its cordless mouse product, deals to produce add-ons for Sony's PlayStation have proved successful.

www.logitech.com

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

SAP

Co-Chairmen and CEOs: Hasso Plattner and Henning Kaqermann

SAP increased market share in 2002 and gained valuable customers such as NASA and Unilever in the United States. Operating income, before charges for stock-based compensation programs and acquisitions, increased by 15%, to euro1.7 billion, and operating margin increased by almost 3%, to 22.7%. Total revenues for the 2002 were up 1%, to euro7.4 billion.

www.sap.com

CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING

Grupo Dragados

Chairman; Antonio Garcia Ferrer

Spanish construction and engineering company Grupo Dragados had a net profit of euro117.3 million in the first six months of 2003, 7.2% more than last year. Its construction and industrial divisions had pre-tax profits that grew 20% and 276% respectively during the same period. The company is currently merging with Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (ACS), which will make it one of the largest construction firms in Europe by market cap and among Europe's five largest contractors by sales, and one of the world's top 10.

www.dragados.com

CONSUMER DURABLES

Electrolux

President and CEO: Hans Straberg

Group sales in 2002 increased by 5.5%, and operating margin improved to 5.8%. Much of the growth came from higher volumes, lower costs for materials, and savings generated by restructuring. Especially encouraging for the company was the recovery in US sales, which had been badly hit in 2001. Electrolux has regained its previous market share in the US by accelerating product development and getting those new products to market more quickly.

www.electrolux.com

CONSUMER NON-DURABLES

L'Oreal

Chairman and CEO: Lindsay Owen-Jones

Despite what it claimed to be a difficult operating environment, L'Oreal increased sales in the first half of 2003 by 7.1%, to euro7.14 billion, and profit by 9% on the same period of 2002. Strong growth in emerging markets such as China, India and Eastern Europe pushed the company forward while new cosmetics developments helped consumer products surge by 9.3%.

www.loreal.com

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

AEDS

CEOs: Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich

Revenues at European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) fell slightly during the first half of 2003 from euro13.97 billion during the same period of 2002 to euro13.06 billion. But orders for the company's Airbus unit (EADS owns 80% of Airbus) are solid going forward, and the company claims a 66% market share. It is on track to meet its 300 Airbus deliveries target this year.

www.eads.com

ELECTRONICS

Siemens

President and CEO: Heinrich Pierer

In the fiscal year 2002, net income totaled euro2.6 billion, and EBIT from operations was euro2.5 billion-both a substantial improvement from the previous year. One important achievement for this German light-bulb-to-mobile-phone firm is improved profitability in its US operations, now the largest market for the company, ahead of Germany and China.

www.siemens.com

ENERGY SERVICES/ELECTRICITY

RWE

President and CEO: Harry Roels

RWE increased its earnings in its core business by 46% in the first half of 2003. A focus on electricity, gas, water and environmental services has resulted in the consolidation of American Water, UK-based Innogy and the company's Czech gas business. The company expects a low-double-digit increase in earnings for 2003 as a whole. A simplified group structure introduced in October should decrease costs and increase synergies.

www.rwe.com

FOOD

Nestle

Vice Chairman and CEO: Peter Brabeck

This Swiss-based global giant increased organic growth by 5.5% in the first six months of 2003 and increased its EBITDA margin to 12.2%. Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa experienced high organic growth, and the company believes that it will be able to maintain this pace for the remainder of the year. The recent US approval of Nestle's deal with Dreyer's positions the company as a market leader in the country with the highest per capita consumption of ice cream and closes an acquisition phase in the sector that has added Haagen-Dazs, Scholler and Movenpick to Nestle.

www.nestle.com

HOTELS

Hilton Group

CEO: David Michels

This company, which operates the Hilton brand outside the US and also owns the Ladbrokes betting chain, has had a tough 2002 and saw profits fall 3.1% to L271 million. But the firm's betting group has been a success story and recorded profits up 31.5% to L149.3 million. Its Internet-based betting and casino operations continued to grow strongly.

www.hiltongroup.com

INSURANCE

Munich Re

Chairman: Hans-Jurgen Schinzler

One of the world's largest reinsurers may have had its AA- rating removed by S&P, but it has accelerated plans to replenish its funds in a bid to regain it. The company says that its financial strength has increased considerably, and its subsidiary American Re has been turning a profit since the beginning of 2003.

www.munichre.com

LOGISTICS

Deutsche Post World Net

Chairman: Klaus Zumwinkel

With plans under way to float part of its wholly owned subsidiary Postbank, German's largest retail bank, raising up to euro1 billion, Deutsche Post World Net is unlikely to be short of cash as it goes back on the acquisition trail. Most recently it has purchased Airborne in the US through its DHL subsidiary, making it number three in that market after UPS and FedEx. Its stated goal is to become number one globally. In fiscal 2002 revenues rose by 17.6%, to euro39.3 billion, and profit from operating activities was euro2.42 billion.

www.deutschepost.com

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Reed Elsevier

CEO: Crispin Davis

The first half of 2003 saw pre-tax profits increase by 3%, to L408 million, in a tight market. That followed an 11% growth in pre-tax profits during fiscal 2002. The company's legal division, LexisNexis, has recently acquired Applied Discovery and units of Dolan Media in the US market, giving it further strength in one of its most profitable areas. A clear strategy is now paying dividends, according to CEO Crispin Davis.

www.reed-elsevier.com

METALS & MINING

Anglo American

CEO: Tony Trahar

UK-listed Anglo American's recent financial results were above expectations, with diamond revenues up a phenomenal 49% in the six months to June. Turnover increased 26%, to $12.07 billion. Strategic acquisitions mean the company is likely to benefit from price rises in gold and platinum expected later in the year. A thorough rearrangement of the company's assets undertaken since 1999 is paying dividends, according to analysts.

www.angloamerican.co.uk

OIL & GAS

BP

CEO: John Brown