Hamburg, February 2008 – Olympus is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of opto-digital products for business, leisure, medicine, science and industry. The company produces cameras, dictation devices and accessories, as well as endoscopic systems for medical and surgical endoscopy, microscope systems and imaging solutions as well as diagnostic analysis systems for laboratories. The company was founded in Japan in 1919 and employs over 33,000 employees around the globe.

The Olympus Europe Group itself employs more than 4,800 employees. The group is comprised of around 50 sales, service and production companies throughout Europe, and is active in the areas of Life Science (including Microscopy and Diagnostics), Endoscopy and Imaging. The Hamburg-based group’s turnover for the 2006/2007 financial year was 1,707.2 million euros.

Olympus Imaging Europa GmbH
Smaller but more powerful lenses, perfect harmonisation of lens and camera technology, creative features and elegant design make Olympus cameras a particular hit with consumers. Olympus Imaging Europa GmbH offers a broad product range encompassing digital cameras (including the professional Olympus E-System digital SLRs), binoculars, audio recorders and professional audio processing systems. The product line additionally encompasses several accessories, including storage media such as
xD-Picture Cards, flash units, underwater and outdoor cases plus software.

With the introduction of the Olympus E-System in June 2003, the world’s first fully-digital SLR system, the company succeeded in re-entering the professional photography segment. Based on the Four Thirds Standard, the system encompasses cameras, lenses and further accessories. It was developed completely anew according to the requirements of digital image capture, satisfying the most sophisticated demands for optical quality. The flagship of the Olympus E-System, the E-3, sets a new benchmark for D-SLR photography. It boasts tremendous performance to provide professional photographers with a formidable combination of high speed and image quality matched with Live View capabilities, the world’s fastest autofocus among interchangeable lenses for D-SLR cameras, and top reliability.

With around 35 million units sold, the µ[mju:] is one of the world’s best-selling camera series of all time. Its success can be attributed to its precision measurement systems, high-quality lenses, ease of use, and compact and timeless design.

Building on these winning characteristics, Olympus recently created a new market category with the introduction of a tough line-up of µ[mju:] cameras. Featuring shock and waterproof protection, the µ tough cameras – including the TIPA award-winning µ 770 SW – are perfectly suited to active lifestyles and will ensure the µ[mju:] success story continues.
The Olympus SP series of cameras is designed for ambitious, specialist and creative photographers looking for stylish and affordable imaging success. The SP-570 UZ, its latest addition, leads the ultra zoom camera category with a groundbreaking 20x wide optical zoom to facilitate everything from extreme close ups to stunning outdoor vistas.

For consumers after extreme user-friendliness and great image results at a very attractive price, Olympus offers the FE series. Designed according to the principle of “one button, one function”, all models in this colourful line-up are fun and easy to use, as well as boasting extreme value-for-money.

Olympus also offers a large selection of high-quality binoculars for both indoor and outdoor activities. Among them are models with zoom and wide-angle functionality: Some enable excellent enlargement in low light, while others are especially small and/or weatherproof.

The comprehensive line-up of audio recorders and systems completes the product range in the Imaging business area: Whether for professional audio processing or MP3 recording, Olympus audio recorders are useful all-rounders with many attractive extras.

In the 2006/2007 financial year, total turnover in this business area was 820.6 million euros.

Olympus Medical Systems Europa GmbH
Providing products and system solutions, Olympus Medical Systems Europa is a strong partner in the field of medicine. Olympus’ flexible and rigid endoscopic equipment plays a major role in cancer screening and minimally invasive therapies. The company provides endoscopic and system solutions for a wide range of surgical and internal medicinal applications including NOTES (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery). It also supplies reprocessing systems and a vast selection of EndoTherapy accessories.

The EVIS EXERA product family is currently considered to be the international “gold standard” in video endoscopy. With the introduction of EVIS EXERA II, Olympus again made history in medical technology by being the first to deliver HDTV and Narrow Band Imaging in video endoscopy. The series enables a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications in gastroenterology, bronchoscopy, and numerous surgical endoscopy disciplines. The recently introduced EnteroPro endoscope provides new options for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the small intestine. Thanks to the use of a single balloon, inspections can now be performed in a shorter period of time. The EnteroPro system extends Olympus’ range of small intestine and capsule endoscopes as well as EndoTherapy products. This improves the reliability and effectiveness of the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the small intestine.

Olympus’ developments in surgical endoscopy have also been extremely successful worldwide. Thanks to the new HF technology SurgMaster, for example, market share in the area of Urology was able to be considerably increased. This is all the more significant as the prostate resection market is one which generally records only modest growth. With the EndoALPHA endoscopic control system, Olympus supplies a solution that meets the demand for total OR (Operating Room) integration by facilitating the optimal planning of procedures in the operating theatre. Operation and monitoring of all appliances connected to the EndoALPHA system is managed via a central control unit.

Profitable growth in the Endoscopy division was sustained over the 2006/2007 financial year, with turnover up 12% to 572.5 million euros.

Olympus Life Science Europa GmbH
Merging the fields of microscopy and diagnostics, this company covers a wide scope of needs ranging from microscope systems for life and materials science, to high-performance analytical systems and reagents for clinical laboratories.

Life Science – Microscopy
The Olympus microscopy product line-up satisfies all aspects of the market: from high-end research systems for science to equipment for routine material inspections. In addition, the company produces tailored, innovative and comprehensive solutions in which the microscope is integrated as one component of a whole system. Processes in living cells can only be accurately visualised and analysed when a research microscope is integrated with a number of different peripheral devices to produce a complete software-controlled imaging solution. To this end, the Olympus Competency Centres in Munich and Munster (Germany) develop custom software and hardware solutions for microscopic imaging, ensuring optimal interaction between all of the components required in such a complex system. In addition, Olympus offers comprehensive service and support to users and researchers at all times. Despite a challenging competitive environment, the microscopy business area performed well in the 2006/2007 financial year, with turnover up 13% to 121.8 million euros in comparison to the previous year.

Life Science – Diagnostics
For over 30 years, Olympus has served as an innovative partner for routine and emergency labs, major private labs and blood donation services with its cost-effective analytical systems for clinical laboratories. Today, the company is one of the leading system providers, with a broad range of analysis solutions and a steadily rising market share. This success is mainly due to the flexible, expandable and, above all, standardised platform concept for clinical chemistry. It combines high result-validity with an optimum workflow and a growing range of selectable parameters. In view of the growing pressure on costs in the healthcare system, only scaleable solutions, as supplied by the AU and OLA2500 product families, are able to completely meet these demands. Added to this is the all-round service, from advance planning support to on-the-spot technical help designed to increase efficiency. Olympus’ overall strategy is to become a provider of comprehensive medical laboratory solutions. For this reason, Olympus entered the immunoassay market in the summer of 2006 with a new system comprising the AU3000i analyser and heterogeneous assays. In a market characterised by marginal growth and a continuing wave of consolidation, the Olympus Diagnostics Division succeeded in sustaining positive performance in the 2006/2007 financial year, with sales rising 4% to 179.2 million euros.

Olympus Life Science Research GmbH
The new global Olympus Life Science competence centre in Munich combines research, development and production in the areas of In-Vitro Diagnostics, Laboratory Automation and Molecular Biology with elements of Digital Image Processing and Microscopy. These divisions now exist together under one integrated and state-of-the-art creative and scientific facility. The close collaboration of highly-skilled employees from various specialist divisions creates an interdisciplinary work atmosphere and deep knowledge pool that will benefit all product lines. The project represents an investment of around 15 million euros for Olympus’ European headquarters. The number of employees at the centre is expected to rise from an initial 350, to 450 in 2009.

The Olympus Lab Automation Group develops and manufactures the OLA2500 – the most successful front-end laboratory automation system currently on the market. This system adapts to changes in global requirements by providing appropriate solutions through the use of different expansion modules. The broad spectrum of applications for Olympus’ innovative technologies and systems in the field of Molecular Biology has the potential to create new business and generate further growth through the development of new products.

All Olympus In-Vitro Diagnostics reagents for global demand in the area of clinical chemistry and immunochemistry are developed and produced in Olympus Life Science Research GmbH’s laboratories in Ireland.

Olympus Europa Holding GmbH
Olympus Europa Holding GmbH is the parent company of Olympus’ European subsidiaries and also provides these with services in the areas of Finance, Human Resources/General Affairs, IT, Logistics and Corporate Communications. It also serves as the umbrella organisation, ensuring Olympus management is both uniform and integrated across all its companies. The management of Olympus Europa Holding GmbH comprises the chairman, the CEOs of the independent companies described above, and Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, the president of Olympus Corporation.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact:

Christina Blake
Olympus Europa GmbH
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49-40-237 73-191
Email: christina.blake@olympus-europa.com