Perpetual Limited — Earnings Release 2005

Aug 17, 2005

MEDIA RELEASE

18 August 2005

PI Investment Management's parent announces 27 per cent increase in operating profit

The Australia-based parent company of PI Investment Management Limited (PI Investment Management), Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited (PTAL), today announced a record operating profit after tax of AUD 111.6 million (Euro 69.3 million)*, an increase of 27 per cent over the previous year.

Net profit after tax increased by 32 per cent to AUD 119.5 million (Euro 74.2 million) $*$ at 30 June 2005.

Good growth in asset volumes helped drive growth in total operating revenues of 15 per cent. EBITDA as a percentage of revenue grew to 49 per cent, with increased expenditure to support the Group's growth strategy combined with the management of other expenses and the introduction of efficiency gains across the Group.

PTAL also announced total dividends declared in respect of the 2005 financial vear of AUD 3.60 (Euro 2.24)* per share.

Total funds under management grew by 23 per cent to AUD 26.7 billion (Euro 16.6 billion)* as at 30 June 2005.

PTAL's Managing Director, Mr David Deverall, said the increase was underpinned by strong underlying markets, the continued award winning investment performance of PTAL's funds management teams and healthy net inflows across all Group businesses.

Reviewing the last financial year, PI Investment Management's Managing Director, Mr Rory MacIntyre, said that one of the highlights was the opening of PTAL's new global equities business in Ireland.

'Building new growth engines has been a key objective of the Group's strategy over the last year," he said. "The launch of PI Investment Management and the recruitment of an established, highly reputable global equities team in Dublin were the cornerstones of that strategy," he said.

In May 2005, PTAL was appointed by Irish Life plc as the third external investment manager on its AUD 8.3 billion (Euro 5.2 billion)* investment product platform. It was also appointed as an underlying manager for the Australia-based van Eyk Blueprint International Share Fund, and included in the fund-of-fund product for another major Australian institutional investor.

Looking ahead, Mr MacIntyre said he was confident that PI Investment Management's quality offering to clients would continue to attract new business.

"We have been operating since February and managing client portfolios since March this year," he said. "The current outlook suggests that 2006 will be a year of good opportunity and solid development for PI Investment Management."

Please click here for a full copy of Perpetual's 2005 Annual Report.

For further information on PI Investment Management, please contact:

Rory MacIntyre Managing Director PI Investment Management Limited Dublin Ireland Phone: 353 1 669 9239 Mobile: 353 879 979 261 Email: rory macintyre@piiml.com

For further information on the 2005 annual results of Perpetual Trustees Australia, please contact:

Susan Morey Head of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations Perpetual Trustees Australia Sydney Australia Telephone: 61 2 9229 3936 Mobile: 61 409 746 385 Email: susan morey@perpetual.com.au

$\ast$ AUD/Euro rate of exchange on 17 August of 0.621

Background

PI Investment Management Limited (PI Investment Management), the Dublin-based global equities firm, was established in September 2004 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Perpetual Trustees Australia. The company received its IFSRA regulatory licence in February 2005 and commenced operations in its new Ballsbridge premises forthwith.

PI Investment Management currently manages Euro 1.15 billion in assets and is actively marketing to prospective clients.

Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited (PTAL) is an independent diversified financial services group established in Australia 121 years ago. Perpetual operates businesses in the funds management, financial advice, fiduciary services and corporate trust markets. Perpetual has more Euro 17 billion in our funds under management or advice and over oversees more than Euro 60 billion through its corporate trust division.

Perpetual is a Top 100 company on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of Euro 1.4 billion as at June 2005.