HELLENIC CABLES's Annual General Assembly was held today, Thursday June 12th 2008, at the ATHENS IMPERIAL HOTEL in Athens. The Company's management presented before the shareholders the FY 2007 financial results, the company's strategy, as well as the goals and the prospects.
The improvement of the company's results was based on the strategic initiatives laid down two years ago: (a) focusing on high added value products & developing markets, (b) improving the utilization of our subsidiary ICME ECAB S.A. in Romania, (c) increasing productivity through ongoing investment in equipment, and (d) ensuring the ongoing improvement of personnel performance.
The consolidated turnover for 2007 reached 407 mil. Euro, while the turnover of the company was 294 mil. Euro, both exhibiting an increase of 27% compared to 2007. The group remained strongly export oriented, since the total exports accounted for 62% of the total turnover, amounting to 250 mil. Euro.
Consolidated Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) exceeded 35 mil. Euro, exhibiting an increase of 23.5%, while the EBITDA of the company reached 19,9 mil. Euro, demonstrating an increase of 11,1%. Consolidated profits after tax increased by 7% (from 15 mil. Euro to 16,1 mil. Euro) and company profits increased by 11% (from 7.4 mil. Euro to 8,2 mil. Euro). Profits per share increased from 0,555 Euro to 0,589 Euro.
The prospects of the Group for the current year, as well as for the future, are positive. The increased needs for electric power and flexibility in its transfer and distribution have led to significant investment plans for replacing and expanding existing networks. There is a need for increased power grid connectivity, both at an interstate level and between different regions in the same country. We also expect an increase in the demand for special cables for ships, renewable energy plants, mines, petrochemical facilities and other similar operations.
In Greece large investment projects have already been announced by domestic and multinational companies in the energy sector in general and in the wind farm sector in particular. An area of significant potential is the possible upgrade of the existing overhead distribution grid to an underground one, mainly for safety and health reasons. It is also expected that considerable quantities of cables will be required for the realization of renewable energy projects on the Greek islands, as well as for the interconnection of their power grids.
In the telecommunications sector, new investments are being realized aiming to promote broadband services and improve network bandwidth. There is a rising trend towards the realization of Fiber To The Home (FTTH) solutions, that is, using optic fiber networks for connecting the individual homes to the providers΄ networks, as such solutions ensure increased speed and high quality of service.
Hellenic Cables is investing heavily in order for the company to take advantage of the market conditions. In 2007 the group investments exceeded 9 mil. Euro, aiming at increasing production of value added products and total capacity, as well as improving productivity. Significant investments have been planned for 2008, when a large part of the current 3 year investment plan of 50 mil. Euro is expected to be realized.
The General Meeting approved amongst others the Fiscal Year 2007 financial statements, as well as the payment of Euro 0,13 dividend per share. Entitled to this dividend will be the company΄s shareholders at the closing of the Athens Exchange trading session on 19.6.2008.