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Part 1 - General presentation of the Group
9
Was 2010, as you anticipated at the end of 2009, a year of
consolidation for the Hamon Group
In some ways. Let me explain… The effects of the
2008/2009 financial crisis lasted longer than predicted,
especially in Europe, and the upturn – that we hoped
would come early in 2010 – was a long time coming.
In this context, our results were not as good as predicted
in terms of sales, with revenues showing a 9% decrease
compared to 2009 and a slump in EBIT (- 33%).
2010 was therefore a lackluster year in terms of results.
For the Group, convinced that the financial crisis is
temporary and that the future starts here, our strategic
decision was not to reduce the overheads or the most
vital areas and to move our focus to emerging markets.
This strategy was no doubt worthwhile as at the end
of 2010 we took significantly large orders in these
countries, particularly in India, Brazil and to a lesser
extent in China, where we have strengthened our
commercial presence.
Speaking of the order book, was it conclusive for all your
markets and operational units
Our order book at the end of 2010, worth 490 million
euro, is at an historic high! We have strengthened our
activities relating to cooling systems as well as to a
lesser extent, air pollution control systems. If we take a
quick overview of the international situation, we have
been awarded an important contract for the construction
of two natural draft cooling towers for the Plant
Vogtle nuclear power station, located in Waynesboro,
United States; this project marks the official return of
Hamon to the market for cooling systems in North
America. In South America, our subsidiary has enjoyed
great commercial success with the signing of a contract
for air finned coolers for a new petrochemical plant. In
India, our cooling activities have the wind in their sails,
with orders for cooling towers for three coal-fired and
natural gas-powered plants for Reliance. Another
significant contract is for a second nuclear plant in
China and there are also turnkey projects underway in