Luxembourg, 13 May 2008. The ordinary General Meeting of shareholders of Paul WurthS.A. was held today, May 13, 2008 and approved the financial statements for the year 2007.
In 2007, Paul Wurth once again recorded strong growth, confirming the transformation the Group has undergone since several years. All key indicators show an upward trend: sales, staff and results. For the fourth year in a row, the Group contracted a record amount of new orders.
Consolidation of the commercial performance
This growth is principally due to the dynamism of the worldwide iron and steel industry and the favourable investment climate, mainly in the BRIC-countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
A major event in 2007 was the construction and commissioning of the new No.8 blast furnace for ThyssenKrupp Steel at Duisburg-Hamborn. By pooling the know-how of the Group’s various competence centres and thanks to exemplary project management, the turnkey construction of this blast furnace, which took a mere 28 months to build, was finished a fortnight before the contractual deadline! This performance is all the more remarkable since it is the first blast furnace built entirely by Paul Wurth and using exclusively Paul Wurth technologies.
One of the most favourable markets for the Group was and continues to be India, where the iron and steel industry is making enormous strides in modernising plants and raising capacities. In one year, Paul Wurth has added no fewer than three major orders for big blast furnaces to its orderbook, namely at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (“Vizag”), Bhushan Steel Ltd and SAIL Bokaro Steel Plant.
Another key commercial event in 2007 was the order awarded by the Russian steel producer Novolipetsk Steel for its new No.7 blast furnace and a series of auxiliary installations. This first order for the construction of a complete blast furnace in Russia means that Paul Wurth has cleared an important hurdle in a market which still offers a great potential. Some contracts for the supply of Paul Wurth technologies have also been negotiated in Ukraine, where the modernisation of the production facilities has just started and where Paul Wurth is currently setting up a representative office.
Following R&D work which accompanied the integration of the cokemaking expertise into the Group’s technological portfolio, Paul Wurth was able to renew the success of the order from GAL Zentralkokerei Saar for two coke oven batteries serving the Dillinger Hütte site by receiving in early 2008 from Sumitomo Metal Industries a first order in Japan for a coke oven battery and by signing a letter of intent for another one with Bhushan Steel in India.
In parallel to negotiating new contracts, Paul Wurth devoted a major part of its efforts to carrying out projects acquired in previous years. Special mention should be made of the biggest project currently under way, namely the construction of two blast furnaces for ThyssenKrupp CSA Siderúrgica do Atlântico in Brazil, whose procurement and manufacturing stages require the mobilisation of important resources.
In 2007, the Civil Construction division also confirmed its expertise in school infrastructure projects. After having completed the extension to the International School of Luxembourg in Luxembourg-Merl in record time, Paul Wurth was entrusted with the project management and technical assistance for the construction of the 2nd European School at Bertrange/Mamer, the biggest school project ever undertaken in Luxembourg.
To match the growth in activities, there was once again a significant increase of more than 16% in the number of staff. As at 1st May 2008, the companies of the Paul Wurth Group employed 1309 people, 560 of which in Luxembourg.
The results of the year 2007
A total volume of 777.7 million euros worth of new orders was negotiated, up 7.9% on the already-high figure achieved in 2006 (720.5 million euros).
Good commercial performances in the last few years resulted in the Group’s turnover reaching a new record of 412.6 million euros (up 20.8% on 2006). In particular the strong growth of the operating result allowed the net consolidated profit to reach 33.5 million euros(20.0 million euros in 2006).
Given these good results, the General Meeting approved the payment of a gross dividend of 420 euros per share on account of the 2007 financial year.
Outlook
The shortage of free engineering capacity at an international scale is likely to maintain Paul Wurth’s level of activities at a high level throughout the current financial year and despite downward correction of global economic growth forecasts. Given the composition of the Group’s order book, exceeding 1 billion euros as at 31 December 2007, the expected results for 2008 at this stage are likely to be satisfactory.
The Group’s development will remain focused on the primary stage of steel production. In this field of activities, Paul Wurth must maintain and strengthen its competitive advantages which have been driving its leadership. The improvement of the existing product range, the development of new technologies, the quality of the customer service and the availability of competent and motivated staff are the key to the ongoing success of Paul Wurth.
PAUL WURTH S.A. • 32, rue d’Alsace • P.O. Box. 2233 • L-1022 Luxembourg
Tel. : (352) 4970-1 • Fax : (352) 49 70-209 •
• www.paulwurth.com