?? Sales: € 4,307.4 million (+41.8%) ?? EBITDA: € 1,060.6 million (+133.3%) ?? Total net income: € 632.4 million (+138.5%) ?? Net income, Group share: € 473.0 million (+226.2%) Proposed dividend for financial year 2005: € 11.2 per share (€ 3.2 in 2004) Boulogne-Billancourt, 8 March 2006 - Vallourec, world leader in the production of seamless steel tubes and tubular products for specific industrial applications, today announced its results for the financial year 2005. The consolidated financial statements, which were presented by Vallourec’s Management Board to its Supervisory Board on 7 March 2006, have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The 2004 financial statements have been restated in accordance with IFRS. Consolidated sales for 2005 increased by 41.8% to € 4,307.4 million. EBITDA rose by 133.3% to € 1,060.6 million, giving an EBITDA/sales ratio of 24.6% compared with 15.0% in 2004. Total net income amounted to € 632.4 million compared with € 265.2 million in 2004. Group share of net income, which benefited from the positive effect of the acquisition of the 45% stake in V & M TUBES as from 1 July 2005, more than tripled to € 473.0 million.... The favourable environment from which the Group’s activities have benefited over the last two years looks set to continue and has resulted, in particular, in long order books in the oil & gas (excluding North America) and power generation sectors. Fundamentals in these sectors remain very positive, sustained overall by energy consumption requirements. Against this backdrop, Vallourec decided to increase its 2006 gross capital expenditure budget by around 30% in order to boost significantly its high value-added finishing capacity: the Group’s heat treatment capacity is expected to increase eventually by 15%, whilst production at the Changzhou plant in China (finishing of tubes for power plants) will begin during the year. The demand for drill pipes and well equipment is driven by the increase in oil companies exploration and production costs and by the increasingly difficult well extraction conditions (deep wells, offshore, deviated wells, etc.). Against this backdrop, prices of products for these markets are expected to remain high, or even be further increased in the case of high value-added products such as drill pipes, for example. The strong demand for products for power plants reflects the significant number of programmes to build new plants and refurbish existing plants. In view of the above, sales in the first half of 2006 should continue to grow as compared with the first half of 2005 (€ 1,975 million) at a rate close to the annual growth achieved the previous year. The EBITDA / sales ratio for the first half of 2006 is expected to be similar to that for the full year 2005. As of today, demand for the second half of 2006 looks like remaining strong and sales are expected to stabilize at the high level achieved in the first half of 2006. |