Luxembourg, May 12, 2009. The ordinary General Meeting of shareholders of Paul Wurth S.A. was held today, May 12, 2009 and approved the financial statements for the year 2008.
Even though the global economy suffered a sharp reversal during the second half of 2008, the year began in a favourable economic climate, particularly in iron and steelmaking. Thanks to the very high demand for steel and the continuing investment programmes that had been started in 2007, the Paul Wurth Group won major new orders and had, as a whole, an excellent year 2008.
According to Michel Wurth, Chairman of the Board: "Its solid portfolio of proprietary technologies and extensive international presence allow Paul Wurth to be well placed to withstand the current crisis and to bounce back effectively as soon as the market picks up again".
Intense commercial activity
New orders were taken for a total of 734.6 million euros (781.3 million euros in 2007), increasing the number of orders in the order book to a level never before achieved of 1 108.8 million euros (1 065.1 million euros in 2007). The most buoyant market for the Paul Wurth Group in 2008 was India with 23.4% of the new orders.
Paul Wurth’s expertise in hot metal production technologies was demonstrated once again with the successful commissioning of Tata Steel’s new ‘H’ blast furnace at Jamshedpur, the largest blast furnace ever built in India. Only six months after this blow-in, Tata Steel placed an order with Paul Wurth for the construction of an other new blast furnace (the ‘I’ blast furnace). This shows how much faith the client has in Paul Wurth's state-of-the-art technologies and proven know-how.
The focus of Paul Wurth’s operational activity in the year 2008 was on carrying out major projects which have now entered the on-site construction stage. For example, Paul Wurth S.A. was tasked by ThyssenKrupp CSA Siderúrgica do Atlântico with building two complete blast furnaces as part of the construction of a new integrated mill in Sepetiba (Brazil). Another big site is at Dangjin in South Korea, where Paul Wurth is involved in the construction of two blast furnaces for Hyundai Steel. Completing the list is the series of major investments made by Novolipetsk Steel in Lipetsk (Russia).
2008 was also a significant year in cokemaking. The Group won an order for the construction of a new coke oven battery for Sumitomo Metal Industries - the first time it has ever won an order in the field of cokemaking in Japan. A second order came from Bhushan Steel which placed an order with Paul Wurth to install a new coke oven plant in India.
In the recycling technologies sector, the whole of 2008 was devoted to the assembly and finishing work for the construction of the Primus® plant at Dragon Steel Corporation in Taiwan. Designed to treat 120 000 tonnes/year of iron and steelmaking residues, the plant was put into service in April 2009.
The Civil Construction department had also a very busy year with no fewer than three prestigious projects, for which Paul Wurth had taken on large-scale missions, being completed between June and December 2008. This was the new extension of the European Investment Bank, the construction of the new judiciary complex “Cité judiciaire” on the Holy Spirit Plateau in Luxembourg as well as the new administration buildings of the European Court of Justice.
In order to consolidate its proximity to customers, Paul Wurth set up in 2008/2009 new entities in the United Kingdom and in Vietnam, opened a representation office in Ukraine and created an assembly unit in Shanghai.
The results of the year 2008
The sustained level of activity over the last years allowed the consolidated turnover of the Group to show strong growth, reaching 668.7 million euros (414.9 million euros in 2007). Thanks to the good performance in operational activities, the consolidated net result was 45.3 million euros (33.3 million euros in 2007). Given these good results, the General Meeting approved the payment of an unchanged gross dividend of 420 euros per share on account of the 2008 financial year.
Outlook
The financial crisis which arose in the autumn 2008 put an end to the dynamism that has characterised the iron and steelmaking sector for a number of years. The sudden fall in the demand for steel worldwide led a number of steelmakers to reduce their rate of production and to reconsider, put on hold or even cancel some of their modernisation or expansion projects. Even though the impact on the projects won by Paul Wurth is relatively slight, it is clear that there will be a delay in commissioning some plants.
In Luxembourg, the take-over of a majority shareholding by Paul Wurth in CTI Systems S.A. is in the course of being finalized. With Paul Wurth and CTI joining forces, the Group’s competences will be reinforced, the service range to customers enlarged and the foundations laid for a diversification outside the steel industry.
Given the uncertain economic forecasts for 2009, one has to remain cautious about how business will progress. Obviously, though, the amount of new investments decided by the customers will sharply decrease. Cost control is absolutely required, while avoiding what is superfluous. The ability of the Group to adapt its solutions to the changed expectations of the clients and the commitment of the staff will allow Paul Wurth to withstand the most devastating effects of the current crisis.PAUL WURTH S.A. • 32, rue d’Alsace • P.O. Box. 2233 • L-1022 Luxembourg
Tel. : (+352) 4970-1 • Fax : (+352) 4970-2209
• www.paulwurth.com