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RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, Bad Neustadt/Saale:Press Conference in Frankfurt/Main - Presentation of 2001 Annual Results -. Patient treatments up 9 %. Consolidated profit 6.8 % higher at EUR 66.1 million. Revenues rose by 4.2 % to EUR 697.0 million. Operating cash flow at EUR 109.5 millionBad Neustadt a.d. Saale/Frankfurt am Main, 16 May 2002 ----- Attoday's pressconference of Rhön-Klinikum AG in Frankfurt am Main, the Board ofManagement ofGermany's first listed hospital group with headquarters in the Rhönoutlined inhis market outlook how the Group positions itself in a market that isincreasingly open for privatisation, driven by public hospitaloperators'inability to cope with growing volumes in the face of stagnating budgetrevenues. The sweeping changes in a hospital market that has long beencharacterised by inertia will increasingly polarise conservative andinnovativemarket forces. Though a system innovator, Rhön-Klinikum itself has to stepupefforts to maintain its profit margins.'The water level is going up for everybody in the hospital business.We havegot wet feet, but others are in very deep waters', said Eugen Münch,chairman of the Board of Rhön-Klinikum AG.'The resulting selection, i.e. the privatisation process is gatheringmomentumand developing own dynamics, which is indispensable in terms of growthopportunities. We accept the challenge of rationalisation pressures andinternal as well as external discussions that go with them. However, we aresurprised at the considerable momentum of privatisation that is now building up. Thespeedwith which the 'threat of privatisation' is spreading hassparked off a growingresistance to privatisation and rationalisation, and this is reflected inourfirst-quarter results. 'In his analysis and remarks on corporatepolicies, Münch made clear that the present developments unmistakably confirm the trendthatthe company has anticipated and that Rhön-Klinikum itself has set, atleast inpart. The challenge now is to give entrepreneurial answers to this marketacceleration. Such answers are the concepts that we have developed, andsome ofthese are already being put to the test of experience ' said Münch.2001 results underscore fundamental strengthAs in the previous year, the company used the International AccountingStandards (IAS) as an investor-friendly basis of its financial reporting.Thisprovides investors with internationally comparable corporate data for theassessment of the Group and its performance.Consolidated revenues rose by 4.2 % to EUR 697.0 million (previous year:EUR669.1 million). Net consolidated profit increased by 6.8 % to EUR 66.1(previous year: EUR 61.9 million). Growth effects of about 1.3 % camefrom theDippoldiswalde clinic taken over in 2000, while internal growth of otherhospitals accounted for 2.9 %. Due to statutory revenue ceilings, revenuespercase dropped from EUR 2,130 to EUR 2,035.The aggregate number of patients treated at Rhön-Klinikum hospitalsincreased by 9 % to 342,582, up from 314,140 in the previous year.In 2001, the Group invested a total of EUR 120.8 million in fixedtangible andintangible assets. Of this, EUR 33.7 million were funded from grantsunder thehospital financing act (KHG) and deducted from total capital expenditure(asrequired by IAS) so that net capital expenditure stood at EUR 87.1 million(previous year: EUR 92.2 million). The Group's strict costmanagement hasproven its worth again in 2001: Operating expenses increased by 3.9 % toEUR 1.6 million (previous year: EUR 588.7 million), which is less thanproportional if compared to revenue growth. The earnings tax loadof EUR 22.8 million produced a 2001 tax rate of 24.4 % (previous year:24.8 %).Operating cash flow improved by EUR 3 million or 4.2 % to EUR 109.4 million(previous year: EUR 105.0 million). The Group boosts an equity ratio of44.7 %(previous year: 41.3 %). According to IAS, equity is shown at EUR 374.1million (previous year: EUR 319.0 million). At the balance sheet date, long-termassets were fully covered by equity and long-term liabilities. Netconsolidatedprofit for the year rose by EUR 4.2 million or 6.8 % to EUR .1 million,up from EUR 61.9 million in the previous year.At 31 December 2001, the Group employed 9,432 persons (previous year:9,357). To provide for an appropriate managerial framework for future hospitaltake-overs, the Group has extended its Junior Executive Programme and also recruited anumber of executives on the open labour market. *********************end of message, (c)DGAP 16.05.2002