BEST SIX MONTHS EVER FOR DISCOVERY

DISCOVERY HOLDINGS LIMITED
EMBARGOED UNTIL 17h00 - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2001
MEDIA RELEASE - DISCOVERY - FINAL
BEST SIX MONTHS EVER FOR DISCOVERY
20 February 2001

In what chief executive officer Adrian Gore describes as the group's "best six
months ever," Discovery boosted group profit by 62% for the six months ended 31
December 2000. Revenue grew by 56% to R2,3bn and headline earnings per share
grew by 57% to 12,9c.

Even more impressive was the 104% leap in operating profit to R106-million from
R52.1-million. This is before the results of new operations Discovery Life and
US subsidiary Destiny Health.

New business annualized premium income was up 35% to R799.5-million

(R591.4-million), while embedded value grew by 61% to R2,64 bn.
Major achievements during the period were:

* excellent performance by Discovery Health, in particular the containment of
the Health Plan increases to 13.8%, amongst the lowest in the industry;
* substantial expansion in the number of covered lives by Discovery Health, now
exceeding 770,000;

* the launch of Discovery Life, which is already producing significant volumes
of new business;

* increased membership of Vitality, which passed the 600,000 mark and was
enhanced by the addition of several new business partners;

* and the bedding down of the operations of US-based subsidiary, Destiny Health
"This has been an exciting and hugely successful six months," says Adrian Gore,
chief executive officer of Discovery. "It has been an extremely busy period,
with the successful launch of Discovery Life. Discovery Life has been carefully
structured to meet the changing market of unbundled and specialised risk and
investment products. Its unique product range, we believe, will have a profound
impact on the life insurance market. Discovery Life was launched in September
2000 and currently produces new business at a rate estimated at 10% of the
entire risk market."

Discovery Life is expected to become profitable within three years. Gore says
it is revolutionising the life business by offering life cover which can be
invested (referred to as "invested risk benefits") in different markets or
currencies, it covers the whole family, not just the breadwinner and, through
Vitality, rewards clients who look after their health.

Discovery Health performed excellently with covered lives increasing to
770 249. Another key feature of the results is cost containment in the
Discovery Health Plans, reflected in the 13.8% increase in premiums versus a
market norm of more than 25%. "We are starting to see the benefits of a
laser-beam focus on financial and medical management, as well as the overall
impact of Vitality," says Gore. "Vitality encourages and rewards wellness, so
we are seeing thousands of people give up smoking, attend gym and take
preventive measures. This earns them points, which generate holidays at home or
abroad and scores of other benefits.

Vitality has continued to impress, now providing incentives and facilities to
over 600 000 people. Important benefits, such as overseas travel with

SwissAir have been added, and VitalityMed, which provides structures and
incentives to enhance health for chronic members was launched.

"It has also been a complex period, given the liquidation of Leisurenet, which
impacted the relationship between Vitality and Health and Racquet Club (H&RC)."
After lengthy negotiations, a fresh agreement is now in place with Virgin
Active, the new owners of H&RC. Vitality members will pay a once-off R595 to
activate membership of the health clubs, which is an extremely attractive
benefit when compared with the retail rate.

The launch of Destiny Health in the US last June was opportune given the
growing frustration over managed health care schemes, which have failed to
contain medical inflation, and the arrival of the Bush administration, which
favours medical savings accounts. The focus during the first six months was to
establish a robust and efficient health insurance company with a competitive
product range. This has been achieved.  The challenge now is a marketing one,
and the focus over the next 12 months is to roll out the product range, its
features and to build distribution aggressively. The Destiny team has been
substantially strengthened by the appointment of a highly experienced marketing
executive.

Gore says the South African healthcare regulatory environment has become more
complex, and Discovery's pleasing results demonstrate that the ability to
embrace complexity is a key component in achieving success. Open enrolment has
added to the costs of medical schemes and increased the incidence of

opportunistic hopping between schemes. There was a fear that rising medical
premiums would force the young and healthy to leave schemes rather than
subsidise the old and the infirm.

"The performance of the Health Plans illustrate that the careful combination of
product design,

focussed financial and medical management and Vitality are appealing and
appropriate to the healthy and sick, young and old," says Gore.

Discovery is continuing to make substantial investment in systems and

technology to improve customer service levels. Predictive tools have been
developed to allow service staff to interact with customers before they
initiate a contact with the company, thereby substantially enhancing individual
customer service levels and focusing the company on "dazzling" its clients.
Looking forward to the next six months, Gore says growth is expected from all
business units. "We will continue to focus on our core purpose of improving our
members' health and enhancing their lifestyles. We will continue to contain
costs and expand the number of lives covered by our health plans, as well as
our Vitality membership. We also expect to see strong growth from Discovery
Life and Destiny."
Ends
Issued on behalf of :
Mr Adrian Gore
Discovery Health
25 Fredman Drive
Sandton
Contact  :   Mr Adrian Gore
Tel      :   011 881 2854
             Mr Aubrey Cimring
             011 290 1585
             082 606 2865
             Mr Shaun Mattison
             011 881 2865
             082 606 2298
By:
Fasedemi Newman Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett
3 Simba Rd
Sunninghill
Contact:    Jenni Newman     082 882 8888
            Jo Forshaw       083 225 6206