Registration Document BOUYGUES

2
Business activities
and CSR
Colas
a foothold in new markets with bright prospects
for the future, such as railways;
> developing end-to-end services, such as Public-
Private Partnerships, concession projects and
network management, that incorporate all Colas'
technical skills from analysis and specification
to financing, design, construction and maintenance;
> building major projects that are complementary
to the traditional core business so that the company
can serve its customers better;
> developing an extended and innovative range
of products and services that meet sustainable
development needs.
Strengths and opportunities
Colas has a number of strengths on which to build
its growth:
> a network of over 800 profit centres and 1,400
materials production units in 50 countries
around the world, some of them dating back
over a hundred years;
> a decentralised organisation with strong local
roots that is flexible, responsive and adapted to
market needs;
> a group that has grown up around a strong
core business, namely the construction and
maintenance of transport and other infrastructure,
especially roads, covering all aspects and
components;
> a wealth of collective intelligence, with values
and a passion shaped by a long common history
shared by nearly 63,000 employees, handed
down from one generation to the next and
enhanced by an appropriate human resources
policy;
> technical and innovation skills developed
by an extensive international network of 2,000
researchers and technicians, 45% of them in
France, who work in close synergy with operational
staff. The network comprises a Campus
for Science and Technology (CST), the road
industry’s first and largest private research
centre, about 50 laboratories with some 1,000
staff and 100 engineering consultancies with a
further 1,000 employees. With a portfolio of over
130 patents, Colas has pioneered new road
technologies adapted to the different requirements
of local markets, guided at all times
by an overriding concern for quality, safety,
env ironmental protection (energy efficiency,
reduced greenhouse gas emissions, reduced
materials consumption) and cost;
> vertical integration upstream and a policy
of controlling supplies of materials such as
aggregates, binders, asphalt mixes, ready-mix
concrete, bitumen, waterproofing membranes
and road safety equipment;
> a capacity to meet all transport infrastructure
needs, whether new construction or maintenance,
major projects or small local contracts,
through local operations and the capacity to
mobilise the entire Colas group.
Opportunities for growth include:
> mobility (roads, railways, public transport,
airports) and an improved living environment
(urbanisation), which will require responses
worldwide;
> complex projects which offer an effective
response to such needs, by optimising them,
and to financing constraints. Colas has acknowledged
expertise in concessions, PPP, PFI,
MAC and other forms of long-term maintenance
contract, both in France and around the
world. Examples include the Rheims tramway
concession, a concession for a section of the
A63 motorway in France, the Vichy bypass
PPP, a roads and street lighting PPP in Plessis-
Robinson, near Paris, the Portsmouth PFI and
MAC road and rail maintenance contracts in the
UK, network management in Canada and the
M6-M60 motorway PPP in Hungary;
> network maintenance, an area that is likely
to become more important than new construction
in many countries, and for which Colas
has acknowledged skills and an appropriate
organisational structure;
> sustainable development products and services
incorporating innovations in areas such as
environmental conservation, health and safety
and CSR.
BUSINESS ACTIVITY
AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN 2011
A year of adaptation
and transformation
Colas turned in a solid performance in 2011, in a
relatively unfavourable global economic environment.
Sales at end-December 2011 amounted to
€12.4 billion, 6.4% up on 2010 (5.1% like-for-like
and at comparable exchange rates).
The sales performance differed from one region
to another. Sales rose in mainland France, North
America, Asia, Australia and Northern Europe,
dipped in Africa, the Indian Ocean region, North
Africa and the French overseas départements and
fell more sharply in Central Europe.
Current operating profit rose 28% to €466 million at
end-December 2011, compared with €365 million
a year earlier, as a result of factors including (i)
a strategy of favouring margins over volume, (ii)
the many measures to adapt and move forward
taken not only in Central Europe (where the current
operating profit improved by €78 million) but
also in French overseas départements, mainland
France and all Colas profit centres, and (iii) the
pursuit of targeted growth. In the absence of
non-current charges, operating profit rose 49% to
€466 million, compared with €313 million at end-
December 2010.
Net profit attributable to the Group amounted to
€336 million, 50% up on the previous year’s figure
of €224 million.
Colas confirmed its very robust financial structure,
with net cash of €28 million at end-December
2011, compared with net debt of €57 million at
end-December 2010, and shareholders’ equity
(attributable to the Group) of €2.5 billion.
Colas performed well in terms of commercial activity
in 2011. While sales rose by 6.4% over the year,
a good order intake boosted the order book by 5%
to €6.5 billion at end-December 2011, with orders
rising both in France (4%) and on international
markets (7%).
France
Consolidated sales in France rose 8% on 2010 to
€7.2 billion.
Mainland France
The roads market remained stable by volume in
relation to 2010, sustained by roadworks linked to
the many reserved-lane public transport projects,
although there were very considerable differences
PPP: Public-Private Partnership - PFI: Private Finance Initiative - MAC: Managing Agent Contractors (UK)
BOUYGUES • 2011 Registration Document • BUSINESS ACTIVITIES AND CSR • 87