WORLD'S BEST COMPANIES 2004

Global Finance, Nov 2004 by Fittipaldi, Santiago, Hawser, Anita, Neville, Laurence

The seventh annual survey of the World's Best Companies profiles the global leaders and the top regional players.

For most of the world's top companies this has been a remarkable year. Revenues have been rising strongly and, for many, profits have been rising even faster. As we see in this report, the world's greatest companies have weathered the downturn and emerged stronger and more dominant than ever.

With rising oil prices threatening to choke off global economic growth, however, we might look back on mid-2003 to mid-2004 as a golden year. Of course, one of the most accurate measures of a successful company is how it fares when times are hard. We may find out sooner than we'd like.

As always, the winners were chosen using a mix of criteria including revenue and profit growth, market cap and share price growth, corporate responsibility, product innovation, global expansion and corporate accountability.

AIRLINES

EMIRATES

President: Tim Clark

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, has expanded its route system worldwide. In the first half of this year, it added flights to New York, Shanghai and a half dozen other destinations. The airline's distinctive white jets with gold lettering now fly to 77 cities in 54 countries.

"In its latest fiscal year, ended March 31, Emirates carried 10.4 million passengers, an increase of 23% from a year earlier. Its earnings rose 74%, to $429 million. At the Farnborough International air show in England in July, Emirates placed firm orders for four Boeing 777-300ER planes, with options for nine more.The $2.96 billion purchase brought the airline's order book to $28 billion.

Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum says the airline's strong performance shows it is doing its part to help the UAE government realize its plan to turn Dubai into one of the world's fastest-growing commercial and financial centers. He attributes the airline's success to investment in new equipment and the skill and dedication of its 22,500 employees.

A new airport terminal is being built in Dubai at a cost of more than $5 billion. Dnata, the group's airport and air-travel services unit, provides ground-handling services at airports in Singapore, Iran, the Philippines, Qatar and Pakistan.

www.emirates.com

AUTOMOTIVE

BMW

Chairman and CEO: Helmet Panke

Luxury automaker BMW operates 24 plants in 14 countries. In May 2004 it opened a joint venture plant in Shenyang, China, with Brilliance Automotive as its partner. BMW also is scouting prospects for a new plant that it wants to set up in India as it continues to increase its presence in the fast-growing Asian region.

The US is the company's single-largest market, followed by Germany and the UK. Overall sales of BMW, Mini and Rolls Royce models rose by 8% in the first eight months of 2004 from the same period a year earlier.

BMW's earnings increased 18%, to $805 million, in the second quarter of 2004, as the introduction of new models helped to boost sales and the company achieved higher profit margins.

Sales of the X3 sport-utility vehicle, which was launched in January, passed the 50,000 mark in August. Some 13,748 of the new BMW 6-series coupe and convertibles, also introduced this year, were delivered by the end of August.

Convertible versions of the Mini and Mini Cooper compacts went on sale in July, and a 1-series compact hatchback was introduced in September. The company increased its worldwide workforce by about 2,000, to 105,388, in the second quarter.

www.bmw.com

BEVERAGES

PEPSICO

Chairman and CEO: Steven S. Reinemund

PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, sells its products in nearly 200 countries and territories. PepsiCo, which includes Frito-Lay snacks, boasts 15 brands that each account for $1 billion or more in annual retail sales.

PepsiCo's main beverage brands are Pepsi-Cola, Sierra Mist, Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Tropicana. The latter has introduced a line of low-carbohydrate orange juice for health-conscious consumers.

The company's numerous international soft-drink brands include Mirinda, 7-Up, Pepsi Limon, Kas and Teem.

In Iraq, PepsiCo and Baghdad Soft Drinks signed a franchise agreement this year to reintroduce Pepsi-Cola, 7-Up and Mirinda.The country had been one of PepsiCo's largest beverage markets in the Middle East before US and international trade sanctions were imposed in 1990.

PepsiCo earned $1.36 billion in the quarter ended September 4, 2004, on revenue of $7.26 billion.

www.pepsico.com

CHEMICALS

BASF

Chairman: Jürgen Hambrechi

An improving world economy has boosted demand significantly for BASF's products, including natural gas, oil, petrochemicals, high value-added chemicals, plastics and agricultural products.

BASF's sales increased 13% in the second quarter of 2004 from the same period a year earlier, to euro9.3 billion. Income from operations before special items, or EBIT, rose 44%, to euro1.2 billion.The company plans to build a major petrochemical plant in Nanjing, China, in partnership with Sinopec, and to continue with its restructuring and cost-cutting efforts.