2009 Annual Report

Financial Results 2009

• Revenue €1,921 million, a decrease of 15.8% (a like-for-like¹ decrease of 15.2%).
• Operating income (EBIT) €121 million, a decrease of 35.4% (a like-for-like¹ decrease of 29.8%).
• Resilience in France and Germany. Difficult conditions in the UK, Spain and Italy continued whilst other European markets also suffered from declining revenues.
• Significant year-on-year revenue reduction in the US, stabilising by year end. Slightly better activity levels in Canada.
• Central American and Mexican markets mirrored the US trend of deteriorating revenue. Revenue decline less pronounced in certain South American markets, such as Peru.
• Australian and New Zealand markets also affected by global recession, and difficult market conditions continued in South Africa.
• Satisfactory performance in China and Malaysia. Proposed dividend of €0.24 gross per share (€0.18 net), an increase of 4.35%.