ST. PAUL, MINN. — June 16, 2003 — Merrill Corporation, a global, diversified communications and document services provider, today announced a sixteen percent (16%) increase in net income for the fiscal first quarter ended April 30, 2003. Despite a three percent decrease in revenue for the quarter to $154 million, net income for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2003 was $3.6 million, an increase of $0.5 million from the same period in the prior fiscal year. “We are pleased to have increased our earnings in this challenging operating environment,” said John Castro, CEO of Merrill Corporation. “Financial market activity has been particularly weak during the last six months, placing pressure on financial printing revenues. In addition, depressed financial asset values continue to adversely impact our mutual fund customers and the revenues and margins in that market. Our ongoing focus on cost control and leveraging our resources helped mitigate the bottom-line impact of these lower revenues.” “Additionally, we continue to grow our diversified business, most notably document management services to the legal industry and marketing and communication services to the real estate industry. This diversification of revenue streams has resulted in relatively stable revenues, despite the depressed financial markets.” Notable accomplishments in the quarter were the continued growth of our Language Translation Services and of Merrill Datasite, our Web-based, deal room product. Merrill Datasite enables users to review large document volumes using Web-based search tools from any location. Merrill commenced fulfillment operations for a significant new investment company client by taking over their distribution operation in the Midwest. We expect to leverage that facility as a base for further expansion. Earnings before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2003 was $20.6 million, representing a three percent increase over the $20.0 million earned in the prior fiscal year’s first quarter. The Company expects to pay interest in cash on its outstanding Class A Senior Subordinated Notes due 2009 and Class B Senior Subordinated Notes due 2009 on June 30, 2003.