Adecco Fourth Quarter Sales Strengthen.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 1997--Adecco SA (formerly Adia SA) today reported revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 29, 1996 of CHF 2,257 million from continuing operations, excluding the cleaning and security businesses which were sold in September 1996. This represents an increase of 124% compared with last year due to the merger with the French Ecco Group.

Pro Forma Revenues

On a like for like basis, including the revenues of both Adia and Ecco for the full quarter, sales were up 21% over the same period of the previous year. Revenues, excluding the effects of the acquisitions of Roevin (UK), BCI (USA), Econova (CH) and the divestiture of PGA (USA), increased by 19% in the fourth quarter and by 10% for the 12 months ended December 19, 1996.

Pro Forma Revenues by Region

France continues to present a challenging economic environment but signs of recovery are evident. According to PromaTT (the main French temporary employers' union), the temporary staffing market was almost stable in the fourth quarter, a turnaround from the decline reported for the third quarter. Adecco's revenues in France were also stable when measured in French francs. Adecco is optimistic that the launch of the new Adecco brand in January, which has been very well received, will provide a further stimulus to sales in the year ahead.

The rest of Europe, excluding France, performed extremely well delivering sales growth of 29% for the quarter. Great Britain, Spain and the Netherlands each strongly increased their activity, whereas only Germany and Switzerland experienced a reduction in sales due to slow economic growth.

As expected, North America continued to post strong revenue increases with particularly robust gains by the specialist brands, Ajilon and Accountants on Call. The strengthening US Dollar continued to have a positive impact on sales measured in Swiss francs.

Asia/Pacific sales also recovered strongly from the third quarter to post gains of 30%.

"Given the challenging economic environment in France, Germany and Switzerland, we are pleased with Adecco's top line growth. The introduction of the new Adecco brand worldwide is complete and all of our energies are now focused on delivering outstanding services to our growing portfolio of clients throughout the world," commented John Bowmer, Chief Executive Officer of Adecco.

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Pro Forma Revenues of Adecco SA(a)

                       Fourth Quarter               Full Year
CHF million       1996     1995   % Change    1996     1995    % Change

France            959      889      8 %       3,812    3,829      0 %

Rest of
  Europe(b)       580      449     29 %       2,094    1,697     23 %

North America(c)  519      413     26 %       1,901    1,575     21 %

Asia / Pacific    153      118     30 %         563      479     18 %

Acquisitions,      46              nm           154      250     nm
Divestitures
and other


Total Adecco    2,257    1,869     21 %       8,524    7,830      9 %


Notes

(a) Includes the revenues of Adia and Ecco for the full year, but
    excludes the sales of the security and cleaning businesses
    which have been sold.

(b) Excludes the acquisitions of Roevin and Econova.

(c) Excludes the acquisition of BCI and the divestiture of PGA.

CONTACT: Mark Eaton, VP & Corporate Controller

415/610-1000

or

Francois Vassard, VP Marketing and Public Relations

Telephone: ++33 472 82 58 58