Financial Review - Bouygues

Pipes and mainsThe business includes the laying andmaintenance of pipes and mains(large diameter pipes for carryingoil and gas, smaller diameter pipesfor water, gas, electricity, heating,telecommunications, etc.), deepdrilling, boring of micro-tunnels andmedium diameter tunnels, small-scalecivil works and industrial services.Sales were 11% up on 2003.Sustained activity in tunnelling, deepdrilling and pipe laying made up forthe gradual relinquishment of insufficientlyprofitable work for EDF andGDF due to lower investment andslower demand for industrial services.WaterproofingThe waterproofing business includesthe production and marketing ofwaterproofing membranes in Franceand on international markets, illuminationand smoke extraction devices, theinstallation and maintenance of servocontrols, road surface waterproofing(asphalt), and waterproofing and casingsfor buildings, offices and industrialplants (aluminium, steel). In a contextof tight markets, especially formajor steel covering contracts, andrising prices for raw materials, salesheld up well and reached levels comparableto 2003.RailThe rail business concerns the constructionand maintenance of rail networks(conventional track, high-speedtrain lines, tramway and undergroundlines). Sales were equivalent to theprevious year. Activity in connectionwith the new high-speed link to easternFrance, tramways and regionalrailways made up for a decline inmaintenance contracts for RFF/SNCFcaused by budget restrictions.6.4% to €3,444bn (8.5% like-on-likeand at comparable exchange rates).International sales in the roads sectorare more or less identical to sales inmainland France, though individualprojects tend to be larger in NorthAmerica, central Europe and theIndian Ocean. Works activities arealso supplemented by the upstreamproduction of aggregates, asphaltmixes, emulsions and ready-mixedconcrete. The share of this productionsold to third parties may be larger, asis the case in North America. The maincomplementary activities outsideFrance are pipes and mains and railwayworks in Europe, building andcivil works in the Indian Ocean. Thestorage and marketing of oil products,mostly for roads (bitumen), is developingin Asia.EuropeSales outside France rose by 14.8% to€1,289m, of which northern Europeaccounted for €751m and centralEurope for €538m.In Belgium, where spending on roadsand motorways is falling, sales wereInternational: stronggrowth in central Europeand the Indian OceanEconomic revenue on internationalmarkets and in France's overseasdepartments and territories rose by22