Abstract from Board of Directors' Annual Report - 5

The chemical laboratories in Pero (Milan), Torelló (Barcelona), Stevenage (UK) and Buenos Aires are dedicated primarily to formulative research and to the provision of technical assistance to customers.

The Quality Systems in the aerosol, spray pumps, dispenser, spray-caps and special actuators sectors conform to ISO 9001/2000 norms; all Coster Group units in­volved in manufacturing processes are certified.

No relevant events have occurred since the close of the financial year 2006.

The following pages illustrate some of the Group's new investments in innovation and manufacturing.
The new Coster standard "Twist" twist-lock actuator for press-down valves, the new aerosol spray caps "Basil Ridsect" and "Taft", manufactured exclusively for Sara Lee e Henkel Schwarzkopf respectively, serve as examples of Coster production. Also shown are the Bag-On-Valve assembling department and the new laboratory in the United States, the new moulding departments in Argentina and Malaysia, and the new Coster filling lines for pharmaceuticals.

Following these illustrations, an abstract of the Consolidated Financial Statements shows results from operations; a number of charts present the evolution of Group financials over the last five years; overviews of the sales and production organizations complete this section.

The financial statements for both the Group and the parent company, audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, are available on request.

The first quarter of 2007 showed higher order levels than the same period of the previous year. However, the outlook for 2007 is uncertain.

Pressure on prices in the traditional valve and pump sectors continues and the cost of primary materials is unlikely to fall; we expect further contraction of margins.

The parent company and all companies in the Group are committed to improving efficiencies and to reducing costs in order to meet the challenges presented by the very difficult market environment.