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Independent Auditor's Report
To Freudenberg & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft:
We have audited the consolidated financial statements, comprising the balance sheet, the income statement, notes, the statements of changes in equity and cash flows prepared by Freudenberg & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Weinheim, for the business year from January 1 to December 31, 2003. The preparation and the content of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit of the consolidated annual financial statements in accordance with § 317 HGB [“Handelsgesetzbuch: German Commercial Code”] and the German generally accepted standards for the audit of financial statements promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) and in supplementary compliance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit such that misstatements materially affecting the presentation of the consolidated financial statements are detected with reasonable assurance. Knowledge of the business activities and the economic and legal environment of the Company and evaluations of possible misstatements are taken into account in the determination of audit procedures. The effectiveness of the accounting-related internal control system and the evidence supporting the disclosures in the consolidated financial statements are examined primarily on a test basis within the framework of the audit. The audit includes assessing the annual financial statements of the companies included in consolidation, the determination of the companies to be included in consolidation, the accounting and consolidation principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Our audit has not led to any reservations.
In our opinion the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of Freudenberg & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Weinheim, as of December 31, 2003 and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
Our audit, which also extends to the group management report prepared by the Management Board for the business year from January 1 to December 31, 2003, has not led to any reservations. In our opinion on the whole the group management report provides a suitable understanding of the Group´s position and suitably presents the risks of future development.
Mannheim, March 15, 2004
KPMG Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
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von Hohnhorst
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Weiß
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