CORPORATE NEWS
AREVA signed € 150 mn contract for the delivery of two high-voltage (400 kV) substations in Dubai with DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) The contract was awarded in partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries which will supply four power transformers. AREVA’s substations will help DEWA meet the Emirate’s increasing demand for electricity due to its rapid urban expansion. DEWA selected AREVA due to the group’s strong project delivery track record and leadership position on the Middle East’s high-voltage market. In January, AREVA was awarded with a € 500 mn contract by Qatari utility, Kahramaa, as part of its grid expansion program
Group RENAULT -- Renault, Dacia, and Samsung-- reported strong sales +14.8% year-on-year in February. Last month, car sales totaled 196 692 units. In March car sales amounted to 167 975 up +13% Dacia sales performed best +57.1% to 21 520 units while Samsung Motors sales dipped -20.3% to 7 197 units. In Europe, Renault sales rose +8.2% to 128 081 units and worldwide +29.4% to 68 611 units.
Group CASINO reported robust 2007 growth sales +11% with trading profit +14.7% led by international operations +65.4%. International net sales increased +43.8% Per region, Organic growth remained very strong in South America, + 14.8%, and Asia, + 9.8%. Trading profit margin in international operations stood at 4.5%, ( 3.9% in 2006), and is moving towards the margin in France. Net debt stood at €4.410 mn at 31 December 2007, virtually unchanged from a year earlier despite the consolidation of Exito. Net profit Group share rose +52.4%
The Boeing Company announced that it will file a formal protest asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the decision by the U.S. Air Force to award a contract to a team of Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) to replace aerial refueling tankers. EADS was selected by the US. Air Force for the KC-45A Tanker following a multi-year evaluation. The programme award calls for 179 aircraft with an estimated contract value of US$ 40 bn. The initial KC-45A contract for Northrop Grumman covers four System Design and Development aircraft and is valued at US$ 1.5 bn
EADS posted 2007 strong business performance with a record € 136.8 bn order intake and stable revenues despite unfavorable USD exchange rate. By division, revenues rose the fastest +11% for EADS Atrium to € 3.5bn, and Eurocopter +10% to € 4.2bn. Order intake saw Airbus perform best, +120% along with Defense and Security +45% The Group's revenues are expected to exceed € 40 bn in 2008, with about 470 aircraft deliveries for the full year
LAFARGE signed an agreement with total value over € 600 mn with C.B.M.I. Co., Ltd. a Chinese equipment supplier for the construction of six turn-key cement plants to be built before the end of 2010. The first plant, for which construction will start immediately and to be completed by the end of 2009, holds a capacity of over 2 mn tons. It will be built in YongChuan in Chongqing city, south-western China, where Lafarge is the leading cement manufacturer. The plants are part of Lafarge's 2006-2010 program to build 45 mn tons of new cement capacity to meet growing construction demand in emerging markets. The two groups have worked together since 1999 when they entered into a partnership on various projects in and outside China
ALSTOM signed its second major contract, worth more than € 1.3 bn , with state-owned South African utility Eskom to provide key equipments for a 4.740 MW coal-fired power station located in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg. The contract will be booked in the first half of fiscal year 2008/2009. Under the terms of the contract, Alstom will provide six 790 MW steam turbine and turbogenerator packages for the supercritical pulverized coal-fired Bravo power plant. The contract comprises 6 steam turbines with 6 turbogenerators, 6 air-cooled condensers and the related auxiliary equipment, as well as all associated erection and commissioning services. A similar contract was signed last November and involved the Medupi coal-fired power station
IN THE NEWS
MAYORAL ELECTIONS saw a protest vote turn tables over in favor of the Socialist Party candidates and win major conservative strong holds on second round: Amiens, Caen , Carcassonne, Metz, Pau, Perigueux, Reims, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Lille -re-elected, Salon-de-Provence re-elected, Aix-en-Provence (LUG), Angoulême (LUG). UMP (Conservative Party) retained Marseille, Saint-Malo and won Gap (DVD-Conservative),Agen (LM-Conservative), Biarritz ( LCMD-Modem), and Perpignan.
According to the OECD latest interim economic outlook assessment report the economy of the Euro area has decelerated but «in a less abrupt» way than in the US. Growth in Europe « is set to remain on the low side of potential for some time» although exports have « so far seem to hold up well» despite the Euro appreciation. The organization’s forecast for France’s GDP at 0.4% for each Q1 and Q2 was revised down. The OECD short-term forecasting models foresee no growth in the US on the same period. Germany’s GDP is expected at 0.6% in Q1 and 0.4% in Q2 and in the UK at 0.6% for each term.
Eight European member states among which France, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Luxembourg, are world leaders in broadband deployment with penetration rates over 30% at the end of 2007 (higher than the US 22.1% in July 2007) according to the European Commission 13th Progress Report on the Single Telecoms Market published today. The broadband sector generated estimated revenues of € 62 bn and Europe’s overall penetration reached 20%. Nineteen million broadband lines were added in the EU in 2007, the equivalent of more than 50,000 households every day. The Telecoms sector is worth nearly € 300 bn (2% of EU GDP) and grew + 1.9% last year. 2007 was also the fifth consecutive year of increased investment in this sector, exceeding € 50 bn (similar to the US and higher than China and Japan put together)
CAC 40 companies posted a record profit € 101 bn in 2007
Passenger CAR REGISTRATIONS grew +5.8% in JANUARY with a total 175 182 cars sold and increased +11.1% in one year according to CCFA. French cars outperformed foreign cars sales gaining +6.5% market share while foreign car sales dipped -2.2% Citroen car sales rose +9.9% Peugeot +9.4% and Renault +2.1% Group Fiat sales jumped + 21.1% Nissan +38.5% In one year, French car sales rose +14.1% and foreign car sales +7.6%
Construction output rose +1.6% in the Euro area in January impacted by Germany's +11.7% production surge and the Netherlands' +4.8% France's output slowed down to +0.4%. according to Eurostat latest figures. Year on year, output grew to near similar levels in the Euro area and in the EU 27 but jumped +6.4% in Germany and increased +4.1% in France. Romania's skyrocketed +33.7% while production dipped -8% in Spain
New passenger car registrations in Europe (EU27+EFTA) increased +8.7% year on year to February according to ACEA. In total, 1 1808 42 mn new cars were registered over the month of February. Western Europe accounted for a vibrant + 7.7% increase and registrations in the new Member States increased +20.5%. Overall, a quarter of the Western European markets saw their registrations decrease but the German market recorded the largest growth +24.8% and also accounted for the most cars registered 228 623 in absolute terms. The Spanish market roughly equaled last year’s February results +0.7%. Car sales in Italy fell – 3.9% and in the United Kingdom –5.4%. The cumulative January-February figures were + 2.7% higher in Western Europe and + 3.8% in the EU27 as compared with the same period last year. February also saw positive results in the new Member States, except for Latvia. The major markets remain Poland +28.1%, Romania +37.1%, Hungary +7.1% and the Czech Republic +15.8%. Poland and Romania registered the most cars in absolute terms, with 28 182 and 21 423 respectively. Two months into the year, cumulative figures showed a solid +18.6% increase
The Eurosystem--15 national central banks of the Euro area and the ECB-- and the Bank of Russia announced that they have launched a three year cooperation programme in the areas of banking supervision and internal audit. The implementation of the programme will start April 1st : the banking supervision will focus on the transition of the Russian banking system to the Basel II principles, drawing on the experience of the Basel II implementation in the European Union. The internal audit component of the programme will aim to
support the Bank of Russia’s risk-based internal audit function, through training by and consultations with the experts of the Eurosystem. From the Eurosystem, the programme will involve the ECB as well as the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Bank of Greece, the Banco de España, the Banque de France, the Banca d’Italia, De Nederlandsche Bank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank
Record highs observed by world markets in March Included : CRUDE OIL topped USD 111.42pb, the Euro traded at USD 1.59 following several high (USD 1.5688, USD 1.5575 and USD 1.54), Gold traded at USD 1005.50/ounce (March 14th)
In 2006 FRANCE spent around 60% (€ 38 bn) of total R&D expenditure in the EU27 together with Germany (€ 58 bn ) and the United Kingdom (€ 32 bn in 2005) according to Eurostat. The EU 27 highest R&D intensity in 2006 was recorded in Sweden 3.82% of GDP, Finland 3.45%, Germany 2.51%, Austria 2.45% and Denmark 2.43% The highest increases in R&D intensity between 2000 and 2006 were found in Austria (from 1.91% to 2.45%), Estonia (from 0.61% to 1.14%) and the Czech Republic (from 1.21% to 1.54%).
