William Blair & Company Initiates Coverage of Alcon, Inc. With Market

CHICAGO, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- William Blair & Company today announced that it initiated research coverage of Alcon, Inc. ($78.97), the leading ophthalmic care company in the world, with a Market Perform rating and company profile of Established Growth.

Analyst Richard Watson estimated that the company, which markets a broad portfolio of pharmaceutical, surgical, and consumer eye care products, would earn $2.55 per share in fiscal 2004 and $2.91 per share in fiscal 2005.

"Alcon is poised to benefit strongly as the treatment of eye diseases worldwide increases, driven by favorable demographics and economic improvements in the developing world," Watson said. "We believe Alcon's core pharmaceutical, surgical, and consumer eye care franchises can generate solid midteens earnings growth over the next three to five years. Meaningful upside to our expectations is achievable if Alcon can surpass our conservative expectations for revenue contributions from new product launches as well as from emerging markets such as Eastern Europe and Asia."

"Although Alcon faces strong competition within each of its three operating units, the breadth and depth of the company's ophthalmic product offering is unmatched in the industry, in our view," he added. "Moreover, Alcon's strong relationships with specialists in ophthalmology and optometry worldwide were built over the course of many years after extensive upfront investments, creating high barriers to entry for competitors, in our opinion."

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. ( http://www.williamblair.com/ ) is a Chicago-based investment firm, founded in 1935, offering investment banking, asset management, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and private capital to individual, institutional, and issuing clients. As an independent, employee-owned firm, our philosophy is to serve our clients' interests first and foremost.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. has received compensation for investment banking services from the company within the past 12 months, or expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services in the next 3 months.

For important disclosures and information regarding the firm's rating system, valuation methods and potential conflicts of interest, please visit: http://www.williamblair.com/pages/eqresearch_home.asp?uid=782 .

Additional information is available upon request.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, CRD number 1252.