CORPORATE NEWS

GAZ DE FRANCE announced  record 2007 results exceeding targets with adjusted operating income up +10% to € 5.7 bn and net income Group share rising +7.6% to €2.5 bn

Group BOUYGUES posted record full-year 2007 sales up +12% to € 29.6bn with net profit  at € 1.4 bn up + 32% on recurring net profit 2006.Operating profit increased + 15% to € 2.2 bn . The Group also raised its stake in Alstom from 25% to 30% in 2007 and both companies  are stepping up operational and commercial cooperation. Bouygues' debt rose +3% to € 4.3 bn despite significant financial investments totalling € 1.7 bn. The Group hired 21.700 people in 2007, including 12.000 in France and plans to hire on the 2006-2008 period than 55.000 staff , over 33.000 of whom will be in France. Bouygues Construction order book grew +30% to € 11.3bn at December 31 and Bouygues Immobilier (Real Estate) order books rose +65% to € 4.1bn due to commercial property. Colas's order books grew +19% to € 6.6bn on  the same period

ACCORD announced record results with operating profit before tax up +25% to € 907mn. Net Profit, Group share rose + 76% to €883 mn and earnings per share increased + 76% to € 3.92

PPR posted recurring operating income up +33% to €1.696 mn compared with 2006. Revenues from continuing operations rose +16% to €19.8 bn on a reported basis and + 7% on a comparable basis on the same period.Net income, Group share stood at €922 mn, up 35% compared to 2006 and net earnings per share stood at €7.19, up more than 27% 

SUEZ posted 2007 record results with revenues at € 47.5bn up +7% Current operating income at € 5.1bn rose +15.1% due to improved profitability from electricity activities in Europe the performance of North American LNG activities, and expanding electricity sales in Latin America. Net income Group share increased +8.8% to € 3.9bn The Group maintains ambitious 2008 objectives including more industrial investments and will focus principally on renewable and conventional electricity generating capacity, mainly in Europe, Latin America, and North America. SUEZ also intends to hire 110,000 new employees between 2008 and 2012, including 52,000 in France and 10,000 in Belgium.

EDF posted financial results in line with targets as sales totaled € 59.6 bn, representing organic growth of 2.5%. EBITDA rose +6.1% (organic) to € 15.2 bn.Net income (group share) remained stable at € 5.6 bn

AREVA will support disabled French teams as they prepare for the next Paralympics in Beijing. As official partner, the group will provide financial support to the 250-strong French delegation, of which 170 are athletes. AREVA and the FFH (French sports federation for the disabled) have signed a partnership agreement to develop sporting activities for the disabled. Activities will be organized on the group's French sites throughout the year and during the games so that AREVA employees can follow the results and share a different view on disability

EADS announced its long-term R&D partnerships with National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) through the signing of a Contract Research Framework Agreement (CRFA) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) respectively. One research project, launched in January 2008 with the NTU School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) involves the development of a helicopter airspeed sensor for Eurocopter, another EADS global company. As an important contribution to helicopter operational safety, it will improve a helicopter operations and enable it to operate accurately especially during the crucial phases of hover, take-off and landing

THALES confirmed strong revenue growth in 2007 (+20% to €12,296m), driven by acquisitions and solid organic performance (+6.4% on a like-for-like basis).At 31 December 2007, the order book stood at €22.7bn and represented nearly 22 months of revenues. New orders totalled €12.856m in 2007, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.05, an overall increase of 19%, and an increase of 1% within the Group’s historical scope of consolidation. The biggest contract booked in 2007 totaled €430m and involves the manufacture of a dual satellite telecommunication system for Yahsat of the United Arab Emirates. This contract, worth a total of €1.2bn, is being conducted by a joint team of Thales Alenia Space and Astrium, in partnership with Thales Land & Joint Systems for part of the ground station infrastructure. 

Food and Agriculture products along with Fisheries recorded highest global export figures in value on December 2006-2007 period climbing respectively +3.5% and +8.2% according to Insee. Per region, exports of Fisheries to the Euro area increased +8.6% and Food and Agriculture products +5% 

Sales of French Wine & Spirits totaled a record € 9.34bn last year or +6.9% (+12.6% in 2006) according to the FEVS report. Champagne sales increased +10.4% to € 2.36bn and Cognac +11.9% to € 1.68bn. Exports of French wine and spirits to the US ranked first, followed by the UK and Asia  

An emergency meeting on food price increases was held by the Prime Minister and key cabinet members following a consumers’ magazine report showing price hikes of basic food products averaging +48% and +5% between November 2007 and February. Measures announced by the PM, to "understand unacceptable price discrepancies among distributors" did not meet consumers' expectations as they included price verifications at  supermarkets and hypermarkets    

Average RETAIL CONSUMER PRICES expressed in Euro shot up between +21% and +41% from  2000 to 2006 while salaries stagnated, according to INSEE figures. The highest increases : domestic fuel +43.2%, apples +41% potatoes +41%, extra virgin olive oil +27.6%, trout +28%, a cup of coffee +21% carrots +21%, baguette +19.9%, water distribution +13.3% , tomatoes +7% butter +7.9% Prices stayed on an upward trend between 2006 and September 07 : carrots +7% , a cup of coffee +2% domestic fuel +2% while salaries remained unchanged for the most part.