Reprimand Against Ci Com SA By The SWX Swiss Exchange

The SWX Swiss Exchange has issued a reprimand with publication against Ci Com SA, Geneva, for violation of the Listing Rules. The reprimand by the SWX is based in part on the fact that Ci Com SA used the unaudited financial statements of its subsidiary Joseph Bertola SA (closure: 31 March) in its consolidated annual financial statements for 2002 (closure: 31 December). The auditors have therefore attached restrictions to their report. In addition, under the line item "real estate" in its consolidated balance sheet, Ci Com SA illegitimately compensated over- and undervaluations of individual items. Ci Com SA has thus violated two accounting provisions. In view of the potential risks for the market, the SWX Swiss Exchange does not consider the integration of unaudited individual company accounts into the consolidated annual financial statements to be a minor infraction.

On 3 December 2002, the Executive Committee of the Admission Board issued a reprimand against Ci Com SA. Ci Com SA lodged a complaint against the decision with the Disciplinary Commission, which confirmed the reprimand on 20 June 2003. The decision is now effective.

The integration of unaudited interim financial statements into the consolidated financial statements by Ci Com SA violates Art. 67 of the Listing Rules. The issuer's assets and liabilities, financial position and profits and losses as of 31 December 2001 were therefore not presented in accordance with applicable provisions and failed to ensure that neither the parent company nor the subsidiary violated any accounting provisions between 31 December and 31 March. In the interests of the correct presentation of assets and liabilities, the financial position and the profits and losses, any uncertainties in this regard must be eliminated or corrected with appropriate measures prior to the closure date so that restrictions in the auditor's report can be avoided. The professional Recommendation for Rendering of Accounts 3/3 of Swiss GAAP ARR permits overall assessments only in connection with individual company accounts. Overall assessments are not permissible in connection with consolidated accounts, i.e. each item must be considered individually. The consolidated balance sheet of Ci Com SA of 31 December 2001 listed real estate to the total value of CHF 8.828 million of which CHF 8.513 million belonged to a single subsidiary. This figure pertained to a property with a book value of CHF 7.115 million and a property with a book value of CHF 1.398 million. A comparison with current values as of 31 December 2001 indicated an undervaluation of the first property of CHF 2.835 million and an overvaluation of the second of CHF 0.598. Under these circumstances, there can be no doubt that such an overvaluation must be corrected with a valuation adjustment and a corresponding negative impact on the annual results for 2001. It should be noted that the auditors certified the consolidated annual financial statements for the following year, 2002, without restrictions in accordance with Swiss GAAP ARR.