Koninklijke Brill NV

Earnings Release • Apr 21, 2017

PRESS RELEASE Trading Update

Brill reports satisfactory growth in Q1

Revenue developed favorably in the first quarter of 2017. On top of the newly acquired revenue from Schöningh & Fink, we saw satisfactory organic growth versus the first quarter of 2016. We benefited from a slight shift in publishing schedule versus last year but we also continue to see healthy growth in the digital and subscription based formats - especially eBooks and reference works.

Integration activities for Schöningh & Fink are progressing well and we identified programmatic synergies in addition to the operational synergies we are starting to realize. Revenue and results at Schöningh & Fink are developing as planned. We expect the acquisition of Sense to close by the end of June, provided the outcome of the due diligence will be positive.

This early in the year Brill does not issue a concrete outlook for the year end results.

The AGM will take place on Tuesday, May 16 th (2.00 PM) at the premises of the Company in Leiden, The Netherlands. During the AGM, an all-cash dividend of € 1.32 over the year 2016 will be proposed to shareholders. Record date will be 19 May and dividend payment date will be May 22, 2017.

Leiden, April 20, 2017, Herman Pabbruwe, Chief Executive pabbruwe@brill.com - +31 (0)6 20421134

About Brill

Founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands, Brill is a leading international academic publisher in 20 main subject areas, including Middle East and Islamic Studies, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, History, Biblical and Religious Studies, Language & Linguistics, Biology, and International Law. With offices in Leiden (NL), Boston (US), Paderborn (GER) and Singapore (SG), Brill today publishes 272 journals and close to 1,200 new books and reference works each year, available in both print and electronic form. Brill also markets a large number of primary source research collections and databases. The company's key customers are academic and research institutions, libraries, and scholars. Brill is a publicly traded company and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam NV. For further information, please visit www.brill.com.