The english version of the Preliminary Announcement of the 1998 Financial Statements of March 19. 1999, is now available.

At a Board Meeting held today, the Supervisory Board of C.W. Obel A/S adopted the 1998 Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Statements and agreed to issue this press release and the preliminary announcement of the Financial Statements.

Post-tax profit doubled to DKK 203m

Pre-tax profit rose 72% to DKK 303m

Operating profit up from DKK -29m in 1997 to a plus of DKK 74m in 1998

14% growth in turnover to DKK 4,458m

Respectable financial growth reported by Associated Companies

Positive cash-flow of DKK 56m before financing activities versus a negative cash-flow in 1997 of DKK 118m

Dividend up from 15% to 18%

Major reshuffling of corporate management team in 1998. Four out of six divisions have a new management team, and a new Corporate Executive Vice President, Treasury, Finance and IT, was appointed

Major focus on C.W. Obel’s core activities means changes in organizational structure

Clean-up in three troublesome areas in Malaysia, Sweden and Germany completed and under control.

For 1999 C.W. Obel forecast continued improvement in pre-tax profit.

Prelimenary Announcement 1998

Copenhagen, 19 March 1999


Hans Werdelin
Chairman


Mogens Hugo Jørgensen
President and CEO

Contact: Mogens Hugo Jørgensen, President and CEO, who can be reached at tel. +45 4322 1357.