185000000 IT Holding Finance SA

Definitions
In this annual report:
PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION AND CERTAIN
DEFINITIONS AND OTHER DATA
• “$”, “U.S.$” or “U.S. dollars” refers to the lawful currency of the United States;
• “EU” refers to the European Union;
• “€”, “EUR” or “euro” refers to the single currency of the participating Member States in the Third Stage of the
European Economic and Monetary Union of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, as amended from
time to time;
• “IFRS” means International Financial Reporting Standards of the International Accounting Standards Board;
• “Italian GAAP” refers to accounting principles used in Italy in the preparation of the consolidated financial
statements of the Group;
• “United States” or the “U.S.” refers to the United States of America;
• “we”, “us”, “our”, “Group” and “Company” refer to IT Holding S.p.A. and its subsidiaries and predecessor
companies except where the context otherwise requires; and
• “young lines” refers to a market segment of our business that we define based upon our apparel and accessories
business.
Financial Data
We prepare our financial statements on the basis of a 12-month financial year ending on December 31. Pursuant to
European Community Regulation EC 1606/2002, companies listed on the Italian stock exchange will be required to
prepare their consolidated financial statements using IFRS instead of the current Italian GAAP for the financial year
beginning on January 1, 2005. Unless otherwise indicated, financial information in this annual report has been prepared
in accordance with IFRS. IFRS differ from Italian GAAP and U.S. GAAP in respects that might be material to your
evaluation of the financial information included in this annual report. You should consult your own professional
advisors for an understanding of the differences among Italian GAAP, IFRS and U.S. GAAP and how those differences
might affect the financial information included in this annual report.
Our consolidated financial statements at and for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 included in this
annual report, have been audited by KPMG S.p.A., independent public accountants, as set forth in their reports
included herein beginning on page F-2 of this annual report.
Some financial information has been rounded and, as a result, the numerical figures shown as totals in this annual
report may vary slightly from the exact arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.
Market and Industry Data
We operate in an industry in which it is difficult to obtain precise market and industry information. We have generally
obtained the market and competitive position data in this annual report from industry publications and from surveys or
1