ALLIANZ GROUP 2 By proposing a capital increase, we asked you to support us in this process. And you agreed. I hope that you are satisfied with your decision and the results that the company has achieved since then. We are back in the black, and our share price has followed the upturn in our earnings. At the end of the year, the Allianz share broke through the 100-euro threshold. Although the Company is much stronger today than it was in the crisis year 2002, and we are cer- tainly pleased to have reached the first milestone on the path to sustainable, profitable growth, it must also be said that we have been helped not only by the indisputable operating improvements but also by the recovery of the financial markets.  Nevertheless we have made considerable progress. The risk position has clearly improved. Our fi- nancial position has stabilized. Our business models have been strengthened. Allianz is again winning respect. And each day, we are working with greater momentum. That is directly attributable to our nearly 174,000 employees world-wide as well as to our agents and to our business partners. To all of them, I would like to express my sincere thanks for their outstanding effort and their trust. The business success of 2003 also demonstrates the ability of the company as a whole to carry out the decisions that were necessary to restore its competitiveness. At the same time, the turnaround in the earnings performance shows that, while Allianz continues to face great challenges, it already has the necessary potential that will continue to make it attractive in the future. After the loss in 2002, which was one of the worst years in our proud history, we generated a profit of 1.6 billion euros. At the end of the year, our market capitalization stood at 36.7 billion euros. In view of this turnaround, we propose to distribute a dividend on each ordinary share in the same amount as last year. Due to the higher number of Allianz shares, the dividend payout will increase 47 percent to 551 million euros. Since we live in an age where simple numbers have lost much of their meaning as indicators of success, I would like to explain to you the crucial components of our results and to point out what they mean for the future of the company. The fundamental improvements stem from the efficiency gains in all four business segments and in essentially all Group companies. Cost savings in the reporting year alone came to an impressive 2.4 bil- lion euros. This development is important because its effects are for the most part long lasting. Its true significance is borne out by the fact that it is now, in the first quarter of 2004, already becoming more difficult to impose rate increases for all our products. By way of price adjustments and a very disciplined underwriting policy, mainly in the property and casualty business, we were able to bring down the claims ratio worldwide. This trend was also supported by a favorable loss experience. In asset management and at Dresdner Bank, we significantly improved the cost-income ratio, even though the overall earnings per- formance of the bank did not meet our expectations. Nevertheless, the progress in the operating busi- ness of Dresdner Bank is considerable, in view of where we started. In addition, Dresdner Bank’s bal- ance sheet has been adjusted in material areas to reflect the current risk environment. But the results also show very clearly that we still have some distance to go. In view of the improvements already visi- ble at this time, I am convinced that the implementation of the “New Dresdner” program will be suc- cessful as planned and the bank will again earn its cost of capital in 2005. There are two additional aspects that are important for understanding the results of 2003. First of all, in life and health insurance we had to absorb retroactive changes in the German tax law. At the same time, we cleaned up the balance sheet by taking an unscheduled write-down on our South Korean life insurer. And secondly we succeeded, along with improving profitability and the risk profile of our business portfolio, in once again increasing our market share in a number of important markets.