Auditors’ Report in accordance with Artiche n. 156 of Law Decree n. 58 dated 24 February 1998
To the shareholders of
Benetton Group SpA
1.We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Benetton Group SpA and its subsidiaries (Benetton Group) as of 31 December 2009, which comprise the statement of income, the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the Shareholders’ equity – Statement of changes, the statement of cash flows and related explanatory notes. The directors of Benetton Group SpA are responsible for the preparation of these financial statements in compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, as well as with the regulations issued to implement article 9 of Legislative Decree n° 38/2005. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audit.
2.We conducted our audit in accordance with the auditing standards and criteria recommended by CONSOB. Those standards and criteria require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain the necessary assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement and, taken as a whole, are presented fairly. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by the directors. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our audit opinion.
For the opinion on the consolidated financial statements of the prior period, the amounts of which are presented for comparative purposes and have been reclassified to reflect the changes to the financial statement presentation introduced by IAS 1, reference should be made to our report dated 2 April 2009.
3.In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements of Benetton Group SpA as of 31 December 2009 comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, as well as with the regulations issued to implement article 9 of Legislative Decree n° 38/2005; accordingly, they have been drawn up clearly and give a true and fair view of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of Benetton Group for the period then ended.
4.The directors of Benetton Group SpA are responsible for the preparation of the report on operations and corporate governance report and ownership structure in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the consistency of the report on operations and of the information reported in compliance with paragraph 1, letters c), d), f), l), m) and paragraph 2, letter b) of article 123-bis of Italian Legislative Decree n° 58/1998, included in the corporate governance report and ownership structure, with the financial statements, as required by law. For this purpose, we have performed the procedures required under Auditing Standard n° 001 issued by the Italian Accounting Profession (CNDCEC) and recommended by CONSOB. In our opinion the report on operations and the information provided in compliance with paragraph 1, letters c), d), f), l), m) and paragraph 2, letter b) of article 123-bis of Italian Legislative Decree n° 58/1998 included in the corporate governance report and ownership structure are consistent with the consolidated financial statements of Benetton Group SpA as of 31 December 2009.
Treviso, 6 April 2010
PricewaterhouseCoopers SpA
Signed by
Roberto Adami
(Partner)
This report has been translated from the original which was issued in accordance with Italian legislation. We have not examined the translation of the financial statements referred to in this report.