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and governance practices. Business Ethics magazine again ranked Pitney Bowes as one of the “100 Best Corporate Citizens” for 2004. The company also obtained an unqualified opinion from PricewaterhouseCoopers, our independent auditor, that we are in full compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404 requirements for internal control. 

Our Board of Directors takes corporate governance most seriously and is 

adding significant value to our strategic, business and financial reviews. Building on our strong foundation, the Board continuously monitors emerging best practices in governance and adopts those most appropriate for Pitney Bowes. 

Murray Martin and I intend to focus on lead- 

ership, talent development and improving employee engagement. I am particularly committed to effective employee communications. Murray will concentrate on our strategies and day-to-day implementation decisions and work to ensure that our vision is real to employees. 

We are proud of our leadership in the area of diversity. DiversityInc magazine ranked Pitney Bowes No. 1 on its list of the “Top 50 Companies for Diversity” and Fortune included us on its list of the “50 Best Companies for Minorities.” We will take our efforts in this area to another level in 2005. 

We also believe literacy and education are building blocks for community health, individual 

<img src='content_image/75488.jpg'>

The Pitney Bowes Summer Reading Program 

success and economic development. We have created the Literacy and Education Fund to focus community investments in these areas. The Employee Involvement Fund oversees grants for employee- sponsored projects. We are enthusiastic about the opportunities to build strong partnerships with literacy and educational organizations in the United States and worldwide. 

To achieve these goals, we will reinvest in our core mail and document management businesses and diversify into adjacent spaces where opportunities exist. 

We do best when we build on our strengths and evolve at a sustainable pace. We will accelerate our evolution in 2005 while remaining committed to our enduring strengths: reliability, trustworthiness, security and innovation. 

I have the highest confidence in the future of our great company. 

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## CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 

Looking ahead, our goal remains to deliver above- average shareholder value through both consistent dividend growth and share price growth, while main- taining a low-to-moderate risk profile. Our goals are revenue growth in the range of 4 to 6 percent and earnings-per-share growth in the range of 8 to 10 percent. 

