A N N U A L R E P O R T A N D A C C O U N T S - CMVM

Management Report of the Board of Directors - Financial Year 2008
C) PARTICIPATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS
In this chapter, which describes some of the companies on an
individual basis, we will only make brief comments and
references to certain events of particular significance, since
each company has its own governing bodies and publishes its
own activity report
BEL - ere - Engenharia e Reabilitação de Estruturas, S.A.
is a company that has long been 100% owned by Teixeira
Duarte Group, carrying out specialist works in the areas of
Structural Rehabilitation and Preservation of Monuments and
Architectural Heritage, as well as in Inspection and
Diagnostics of Structures.
It is the oldest company of its kind in Portugal, having
celebrated its 50 th anniversary in 2008.
Confirming the forecasts advanced in the previous year’s
report, we wish to mention that, as a result of the dynamism
and performance of its elements, this company recorded, on
an individual basis, an operating profit of EUR 20,727
thousand, which represents a significant 34% increase
compared to 2007.
Considering the ongoing difficulties that the internal market is
facing, BEL, S.A. confirmed its strategic investment in
external markets (see IV 1.3), such as Algeria and
Mozambique, having also started its activities in Ukraine, and
more recently in Angola. Such growth was only possible
because this company stands on solid ground and its staff
has high technical and human capacity, which was reflected
in the quality of the works executed and in the full fulfilment of
the established deadlines, which earned the trust of its clients
and consequently contracts for works and technical studies.
Despite the persistent crisis in this Civil Engineering works
sector, the Technical-Commercial department submitted 143
bids amounting to EUR 76,014 thousand, which, in real
terms, represents an increase of approximately 31% in the
tendered value, thus allowing it to have an orders portfolio of
EUR 24,200 thousand.
Among the several tenders in which the company
participated, besides the works executed abroad, which will
be described later on (see IV 1.3 below), the “Rehabilitation
of Docks 20 and 21 and the Pumping Station” at the Lisnave
shipyards, in Mitrena, also deserves highlighting.
The number of commenced contract jobs reached the amount
of EUR 11,572 thousand, of which 5,758 thousand are from
internal market, which led to the opening of 47 construction
yards.
In the Research and Development area, associated to other
complementary areas, such as Inspection, Diagnostics and
Project, all of them of a strong technical-scientific nature,
specialist works were carried out in the field of Structural
Rehabilitation and Preservation of Monuments.
As a result of the Research and Development activity, we
would like to highlight the obtainment of the certification for
BEL ARG concrete repair mortar, as a product suitable for use
in contact with water intended for human consumption.
In this scientific context, we must mention the approval of the
joint application to the “Atlantic Area Transnational
Cooperation Programme 2007-2013”, under the INTERREG,
positioning itself as the only European Company participating
in this Project. BEL also started participating in the
Management of APEE – Associação Portuguesa de
Engenharia de Estruturas (Portuguese Association of
Structural Engineering), a Portuguese group of IABSE –
International Association for Bridge and Structural
Engineering, and maintains its participation, through two
elements, in the CT43 Technical Committee – Corrosion of
Reinforcements in Concrete.
In the area of Structural Rehabilitation, Reinforcement and
Repair, the most significant interventions were:
- Completion of the works for the Replacement of the Polar
Stock Roof, at the CIMPOR factory, in Souselas;
- Completion of the Repair of the Homogenisation Silo of Line
2, at the CIMPOR plant, in Souselas;
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