Carlson Companies Announces 2003 Sales Results - Systemwide Sales Grow 5.5% To $20.9 Billion

Sales from Carlson-owned and managed operations totaled $6.8 billion, a 1.5 percent increase, compared with $6.7 billion the previous year.

Carlson Companies is a global leader in business-to-business corporate travel and marketing services, and business-to-consumer leisure travel and hospitality services.

"Despite a challenging economy, the war in Iraq and other events that affected our core businesses, we achieved positive sales results in 2003," said Carlson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Carlson Nelson. "We believe that as the economy and other marketplace measures continue to improve, our sales volumes in 2004 will continue to improve as well." Systemwide sales, which include both franchised and owned/managed operations, were driven by growth in restaurants, hotel and leisure travel, while the cruise and incentive businesses, which are Carlson-owned, saw their growth dampened by cancellations related to the Iraq war.

"We have focused on enhancing our business processes so we are positioned to capitalize on stronger economic conditions," said Carlson Companies President and Chief Operating Officer Curtis Nelson. "We remain confident in the resiliency of our operations and our management team's ability to grow our businesses and services."

Prospects for 2004
Carlson Hospitality Worldwide: Having just completed an extensive review of its branding strategy, Carlson Hotels Worldwide will be launching new brand- defining programs in its hotels, including new signature guest features and services. Several major projects are opening around the world in 2004, including a spectacular new Radisson SAS Hotel in Berlin that features a seven-story aquarium in the lobby and a luxurious new Radisson resort on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

Carlson Restaurants Worldwide continues to be a leader in both the casual and fast-causal dining segments. The restaurant company will continue to focus on global and U.S. expansion of T.G.I. Friday's, which has operations in 55 countries. Pick Up Stix restaurants, with 89 locations, will focus on new growth opportunities within the U.S.

Leisure travel: According to a 2004 Travel Trends survey of 287 Carlson Wagonlit Travel experts early this year, 83 percent of the respondents said their bookings for the year ahead are the same as or better than they were during the same period in 2003, and 85 percent said they are "fairly optimistic" or "very optimistic" about their business for 2004. In a late February 2004 poll of Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates and their agents, 86 percent of the participants said that bookings had increased - 35 percent saying bookings were up significantly - while another 9 percent said that bookings had at least held even with last year.

Corporate travel: A world leader in business travel management, Carlson Wagonlit Travel is anticipating continued increase in business travel in 2004 and expects to expand its operations through both organic growth and acquisition. Carlson Wagonlit Travel recently announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Maritz Travel Company's U.S. corporate travel subsidiary, which today operates under the brand name TQ3 Travel Solutions. Completion of the purchase is subject to customary conditions including regulatory approval, which is expected within 90 days.

Carlson Marketing Group: As the largest Olympic marketing services organization in the world, Carlson Marketing Group will be helping clients maximize their Olympic sponsorships and create a measurable return on investment at the 2004 Olympic Summer games in Athens, Greece.
2003 business highlights

Carlson Companies' business highlights in 2003 include:
• The promotion of Curtis Nelson, former president and CEO of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, to president and chief operating officer of Carlson Companies.
• The appointment of three new members to the Carlson Companies Board of Directors. Geoffrey Gage and Diana Nelson, grandchildren of the late Curtis L. Carlson, company founder, joined Dr. Harald Einsmann, a former Procter & Gamble executive, as new members of the nine-member board.
• The addition of 97 Carlson Hotels Worldwide locations, ending the year with 882 locations in 67 countries.
• The addition of 41 new T.G.I. Friday's locations worldwide and 15 new Pick Up Stix restaurants.
• The launch of a new cruise ship, the 700-guest m/s Seven Seas Voyager.
• Continued growth of the three Carlson Travel Franchise Group brands to 1,706 locations. Results Travel locations grew by 86 percent to 741 in 2003 from 531 in 2002.
• Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) announced plans to link several of its travel-related services with French travel company Protravel to create a French market leader for travel distribution. CWT also announced a joint venture with China Air Service to form China's leading corporate travel management company.
• Carlson Marketing Group's acquisition of Peppers & Rogers Group, the leading authority on customer-based business strategy, and Learning Solutions Group, a team of instructional development and training experts.
• Continued expansion of the Gold Points Reward Network, which launched a new lifestyle customer loyalty program for The Food Emporium, a division of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, New Jersey.
• The announcement of a landmark contract to create and implement a travel and expense management system for all civilian U.S. federal government agencies. Carlson Companies' CW Government Travel, Inc. is one of three companies that won the contract.

Among the names in the Carlson family of brands and services are: Carlson Marketing Group®, Peppers and Rogers Group, Carlson Wagonlit Travel®, Results Travel, Carlson Destination Marketing Services, Carlson Leisure Travel Services, CW Government Travel, Regent® International Hotels, Radisson® Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson®, Park Inn® hotels, Cruise Holidays, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises®, and T.G.I. Friday's® and Pick Up Stix® restaurants.



Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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