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An exceptional year
Bouygues had another record year in 2007, driven by stronger commercial performance, faster growth in profits and a further rise in sales, which grew by 12%. Recurring net profit rose by 32%.
Business activity in our construction subsidiaries surpassed last year's already excellent performance. Bouygues Construction recorded a 20% rise in sales, while a substantial increase in the order book provides excellent visibility for 2008. At Bouygues Immobilier, commercial reservations more than tripled and residential reservations were also very high. Colas, which has now achieved 21 years of uninterrupted growth, reported a very sharp rise in earnings.
TF1, facing a lacklustre advertising market, again maintained its leading position and for the first time recorded a clean sweep of all the 100 top audience ratings in the year. Bouygues Telecom passed the milestone of 9 million customers. The investment in its innovative Neo call plan has borne fruit.
The Group strengthened its ties with Alstom, which achieved a particularly remarkable improvement in performance.
In sustainable development, we have extended our policy and applied it in all our business areas. We have made the transition from words to action and will continue to step up our efforts in 2008.
The dividend is to rise by 25%. The Board of Directors will ask the Annual General Meeting on 24 April 2008 to approve payment of a dividend of €1.50 per share.
I can look forward to 2008 with confidence because our order intakes have reached a record level. To support this growth and give our customers the quality they expect, we will again be recruiting extensively. 55,000 people will join the Group in the three years from 2006 to 2008, more than 33,000 of them in France.
I should like to thank our shareholders for their vital support and all our employees for their hard work and their commitment.
26 February 2008
Martin Bouygues
Chairman & CEO
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