Ispat Iscor has made excellent progress in recent years to establish itself as a premier global steel producer. With the support of its major shareholder, LNM Holdings NV, Ispat Iscor has delivered substantial sustainable audited cost savings exceeding ZAR 1,412 billion through the Business Assistance Agreement. This has contributed to a significant turnaround in the fortunes of the company, reflected in the recent interim results where an operating profit of ZAR 2.9 billion was reported.

To further enhance and improve the performance culture of Iscor, the Ispat Iscor board has approved a new strategic direction for the next three years of the company. This plan calls for the following aspects to be successfully implemented over the period:

• Increased throughput in production.
• Optimization of marketing strategies
• A major focus on cost reduction initiatives.
• Enhanced synergies within the wider LNM/Ispat group.

To ensure successful implementation of the new direction, the board has announced a new executive management team to drive these initiatives. The following changes will be implemented with immediate effect:

• Mr. Davinder Chugh will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer.
• Mr. Vaidya Sethuraman will assume the role of Executive Director—Finance as successor to Mr. Malcolm Macdonald.
• Mr. Juba Mashaba will fill the vacant post of Executive Director—Human Resources, on October 1, 2004.
• Louis van Niekerk, whose contract was due to terminate in March 2005, will assume the position of Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of the Board.

Chairman, Khaya Ngqula, said, "Ispat Iscor has made excellent progress in the past few years. The board is confident that the new management team will build further on this success and continue to deliver strong results for shareholders. They are first-class steel industry executives who we believe are the right people to take the company to the next stage. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Louis van Niekerk, Malcolm Macdonald and Martin van Wijngaarden for the excellent contributions they have made to our business over the past decade."

Curriculum Vitae of the New Team

Mr. Davinder Chugh (47): BSc (Physics), LLB, MBA. Appointed Executive Director—Commercial for Ispat Iscor in May 2002. Ex Vice President—Purchasing for Ispat Europe Group SA (LNM Group)

Mr. Vaidya Sethuraman (51): ACA (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India), MBA. Joined the Ispat Group in 2003 as Chief Financial Officer of Ispat's affiliate company Imexsa, Mexico. Previously employed as Chief Financial Officer for companies such as Praxair India and ABB Alstom India.

Mr. Juba Mashaba (37): LLB, Advanced Management Programme. Has been with Simba (Pty) Limited as Human Resources Director since 1997. Prior to that, acted as Group Human Resources Manager for Eskom.