Recordati S.p.A. : R?SULTATS 2006 APPROUV?S PAR LE CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION. DIVIDENDE: 0,185 EUROS PAR ACTION (+35 %).

- Résultats 2006 : Revenu consolidé 576,2 millions d'euros, produit d'exploitation 120,3 millions d'euros, bénéfice net 74,0 millions d'euros.

- Dividende proposé : 0,185 euros par action, une augmentation de 35 % par rapport au dividende payé l'année précédente. Dividende global 37 millions d'euros.

- Deux premiers mois de 2007 : chiffre d'affaires 110 millions d'euros, conforme aux résultats pour la même période de l'année dernière.

Milan, le 6 mars 2007 – Le Conseil d'administration de Recordati a approuvé la publication des résultats financiers pour l'exercice 2006, ainsi que les comptes de Recordati SpA.

Consolidated financial highlights

- Consolidated revenue is € 576.2 million, in line with that of the preceding year. International sales are € 372.8 million, up 5.1%, and represent 64.7% of total sales. Pharmaceutical sales are € 537.8 million with a 5.4% growth of the international business. In Italy sales are down by 7.8% due to price reductions of reimbursed products and the reorganization of our detailing activities. Lercanidipine, Recordati's original antihypertensive drug, continues to perform very well with global sales growing by 21.2%. Pharmaceutical chemicals sales are € 38.4 million and are substantially in line with those of the preceding year.

- Operating income, at 20.9% of sales, is € 120.3 million, an increase of 8.3% over the preceding year. The operating margin improvement is mainly due to gross profit which further improved to a margin on sales of 66.7% thanks to a favorable product mix.

- Net income at 12.8% of sales is € 74.0 million, an increase of 14.7% over 2005.

- The net financial position at 31 December 2006 is positive at € 22.4 million (€ 26.2 million at 31 December 2005) despite the payment of € 45 million for the acquisition of Grupo Jaba's pharmaceutical operations in Portugal. Shareholders' equity further increased and is € 366.8 million.

2006 operations and company development highlights

During 2006 our strong commitment to the further development of lercanidipine was the focus of our efforts which resulted in various positive achievements.

- At the beginning of April the 20mg dosage form of Zanidip® (lercanidipine) was launched on the British market by Recordati Pharmaceuticals. With a sales organization of 70 medical representatives our subsidiary is relaunching our main drug in this important market and is ready to effectively launch in the future the new products currently in our pipeline.

- Also during April an agreement was reached with the licensee UCB to buy back the sales and marketing rights in Germany of Corifeo®, one of the two brands under which lercanidipine is sold on the German market, for a price of € 10 million. Corifeo® is now being sold on that market by our subsidiary Merckle Recordati.

- At the end of July we received the approval for our new product Zanitek®, a fixed combination of lercanidipine and enalapril, from the BfArM, the German medicines agency. Germany will therefore act as Reference Member State in the mutual recognition approval process for the rest of Europe which is expected to be completed during 2007.

- At the end of December a non-exclusive agreement was signed with Sigma-Tau, a leading Italian pharmaceutical company, for the marketing and sale in Italy of our new antihypertensive drug. The launch is expected to take place at the beginning of 2008 following approval in 2007. Agreements have already been finalized with other partners in France, Spain, Benelux, the Nordic countries including Finland, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, the Middle East including Israel, and South Africa. Further agreements are near completion.

During 2006 we also further expanded our direct coverage of the European pharmaceutical market. We established a direct presence in Portugal following that in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. On 28 July an agreement was signed for the acquisition of Jaba Farmacêutica and the other pharmaceutical businesses belonging to the Grupo Jaba in Portugal. The purchase price was € 45 million approximately but may be adjusted contingent upon the full year 2006 operating results. The closing of the transaction took place at the end of November.

In June an exclusive license agreement was signed with Ony Inc., a U.S. drug development company, for the marketing and sale in Europe of Infasurf®, a calf derived surfactant for the prevention and treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Infasurf®, together with Stanate® (stannsoporfin), a drug licensed for Europe from Infacare, USA, shall form the basis for Recordati's new European franchise in the highly specialized area of neonatology.

In connection with our original research the first proof of concept trials conducted to evaluate the therapeutical efficacy of REC 2615 and REC 0545 were completed. A topical formulation of REC 2615, a new chemical entity with potential use for female sexual dysfunction, tested in a pharmacodynamic clinical proof of concept trial, did not reach statistical significance on the main pharmacological end point. It is believed that this may be due to the too slow build up of tissue levels and therefore reformulation work is ongoing. REC 0545 in a proof of concept, crossover clinical trial conducted to test the efficacy of the molecule in the treatment of overactive bladder no statistically significant difference between active treatment and placebo was evidenced. An in depth evaluation is ongoing, including the possibility of pursuing the development of another compound with a mixed mechanism of action, including 5HT1A antagonism.

First two months 2007

- At the beginning of January Recordati initiated commercial operations in the Irish pharmaceutical market where Zanidip® (lercanidipine) is now promoted directly by its subsidiary following the termination of the agreement with the previous licensee.

- In February a non-exclusive agreement was signed with Meda, an international pharmaceutical company based in Sweden, for the marketing and sale in Germany of Zaneril®, the new antihypertensive drug which combines lercanidipine and enalapril.

- Group sales in the first two months of 2007 are € 110 million, in line with the same period of the preceding year.

Dividend

Based on the year's results the Board will propose a dividend of € 0.185 per existing share (€ 0.1375 per share last year) to be paid to the shares outstanding as from Thursday 27 April 2007 (trading ex-dividend as of Monday 23 April 2007), excluding those shares in treasury stock. The overall amount of the 2006 proposed dividend is € 37 million compared to the 2005 dividend of € 27.5 million.

Other Board resolutions

The Board also resolved to submit to the Annual and Extraordinary Shareholders' Meetings the following proposals:

- to renew the authorization to buy back and dispose of Recordati shares until the Annual Shareholders' Meeting convened to approve the 2007 accounts;
- to confirm the appointment of Mr. Federico Nazzari (coopted by the 8 February 2007 Board Meeting) to the Board of Directors;
- to modify the company bylaws in compliance with Law 262/2005 (the so-called "Savings Law");
- to renew the five year authorization to the Board of Directors to effect share capital increases (for a maximum of € 50,000,000) and to issue convertible bonds (for a maximum of € 80,000,000), including the relative necessary change to the company bylaws.

The proposal to renew the authorization to buy back and dispose of Recordati shares would continue granting the Board the possibility of using shares for equity acquisitions or as consideration for strategic agreements; of allowing the company to invest in its own shares; and of servicing current and future stock option plans with existing rather than new shares. The company would be allowed to purchase up to 20,000,000 Recordati existing ordinary (common) shares, which includes those shares held in Treasury stock at any given time, for a maximum cash outlay of € 120 million. The purchase price must be at least equal to the shares' nominal value (€ 0.125) and must not exceed the average official Stock Exchange price recorded over the 5 trading days prior to the transaction, plus 5%. Possible purchases must comply with the Issuers' Rules and Regulations. The company currently has 6,654,891 shares in Treasury stock which amounts to 3.224% of the current share capital.

The Board also accepted the proposal which the Statutory Auditors' Committee intends to submit to the Annual Shareholders' Meeting, regarding the extension of the audit assignment to Deloitte&Touche S.p.A. until the Meeting which will approve the accounts at 31 December 2010, in order to bring the length of the assignment in line with the nine year limit provided by Legislative Decree 58/98 as recently modified by Legislative Decree 303/2006.

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

The Board of Directors convened the Annual Shareholders' Meeting to be held on first call on Wednesday, 11 April 2007, at 10.00 a.m., and on second call on Thursday, 12 April 2007, at 10.00 a.m., at the company's registered offices. Shareholders will be called upon to:

- approve the 2006 accounts, the dividend to be distributed, and the renewal of the authorization to purchase and dispose of own shares;
- appoint a new Director;
- extend the length of the audit assignment to Deloitte&Touche S.p.A.;
- amend the company bylaws pursuant to Law 262/2005;
- and to resolve upon the renewal of the five year authorization to the Board of Directors to effect share capital increases (for a maximum of € 50,000,000) and to issue convertible bonds (for a maximum of € 80,000,000), amending accordingly the company bylaws.

Recordati, established in 1926, is a European pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003828271), dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, with headquarters in Milan, Italy, operations in the main European countries, and a total staff of over 2,000. A European field force of over 1,000 medical representatives promotes a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals, both proprietary and under license, in a number of therapeutic areas. Recordati's current and growing coverage of the European pharmaceutical market makes it a partner of choice for new product licenses from companies which do not have European marketing organizations. Recordati is committed to the research of new drug entities within the cardiovascular and urogenital therapeutic areas in which its research team has proven scientific competence and a track record of discovery and development of original drugs, the most recent of which, lercanidipine, a latest generation calcium channel blocker for the treatment of hypertension, is the company's leading product. Consolidated revenue for 2006 was € 576.2 million, operating income was € 120.3 million and net income was € 74.0 million.

For further information:

Recordati website: www.recordati.com

Investor Relations
Marianne Tatschke
(39)0248787393
e-mail: [email protected]

Media Relations
Claudio Rossetti (Echo Comunicazione d'Impresa)
(39)02 62694736
e-mail: [email protected]

Statements contained in this release, other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based on currently available information, on current best estimates, and on assumptions believed to be reasonable. This information, these estimates and assumptions may prove to be incomplete or erroneous, and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, beyond the Company's control. Hence, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

All mentions and descriptions of Recordati products are intended solely as information on the general nature of the company's activities and are not intended to indicate the advisability of administering any product in any particular instance.

RECORDATI GROUP

Summary of consolidated results prepared in accordance with the International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS)

(thousands of €)