6 - Vicat

6BUSINESS OVERVIEW6.3. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESSES AND INTRODUCTION TO THE MARKETSThe table below shows aggregates sales over thepast three years :(volumes soldin thousands of m 3 ) 2009 2008 2007France 9,991 12,757 13,735Turkey 4,022 3,901 3,934Switzerland 2,638 2,651 3,001Senegal 2,024 2,270 1,893Total 18,675 21,579 22,562The aggregates market is generally fragmented intomany local markets. The various participants areregional or national quarry operators, firms in thepublic construction sector which are vertically integrated,together with international industrial groupssupplying construction materials.The Group gives priority to operating quarries locatednear the consumption markets, so as to optimize itsproduction costs. This approach facilitates access tocustomers, reduces transport costs and enables distributionthat is sufficiently flexible to satisfy varioustypes of orders, whether for delivery of a few tonnesof sand or thousands of tonnes intended to fill a largemotorway site, or to provide individual dwellings.6.3.2.6. CustomersAggregates, mainly transported by road, are soldprincipally on local markets, owing to the high transportcosts. However, quarries sometimes enjoy accessto river or railroads, which makes it possible toship aggregates over long distances, for distributionto more remote local markets.The Group sells its aggregates mainly to readymixedconcrete producers and to the Group’s concretebatching plants, to manufacturers of precastedproducts (breeze blocks, paving stones, etc.), asphaltproducers, public works contractors, masonsand construction firms of all sizes. On certain markets,it sells substantial volumes of aggregates intendedfor various industrial processes such as steelmanufacture.Ready-mixed concrete is sold mainly to publicconstruction contractors, from major internationalconstruction groups to house building companies,farmers or private individuals. The batching plantsfulfil scheduled work contract orders and immediatedelivery requests.6.3.2.7. Markets(a) FranceThe drop in business associated with the slowdown in residentialconstruction seen since the second half of 2008went on into 2009 with the international financial crisis,affecting the whole of the public construction sector.The cement market in France has experienced annualaverage reduction of approximately 0.3 %since 2004 and 5.1 % since 2006 according to theSNBPE statistics (1) . In 2009, the ready-mixed concretemarket accounted for more than 37 million m 3of concrete (a fall of 16.1 % compared to 2008), manufacturedby some 1,780 concrete batching plantsdistributed throughout France (2) .(thousands of m 3 )Production2009 Production2008 Difference(%)Auvergne 706 816 -13.5 %Bourgogne 1,466 1,841 -20.4 %– Franche-ComtéCentre 1,348 1,609 -16.2 %Île-de-France 4,910 5,596 -12.3 %Lorraine 1,087 1,314 -17.3 %Midi-Pyrénées 2,308 2,730 -15.5 %Nord 1,734 2,082 -16.7 %Provence 3,709 4,193 -11.5 %Rhône-Alpes 4,161 5,128 -18.9 %Total France 36,961 44,064 -16.1 %The Group operates 138 concrete batching plants inFrance, which produced more than 2.8 million m 3 ofconcrete in 2009, down by 22.7 % compared with theprevious year. The Group has an 7.7 % market sharenationally (3) .The Group has a very well developed network ofconcrete batching plants in the Rhône-Alpes region,which allows it to track all its customers’ building sitesand places it in the position of regional leader (4) .The Group also operates in the Provence-Alpes-Côted’Azur, Midi-Pyrénées, Centre-Auvergne, Nord-Pasde-Calais,Île-de-France and in the north-east ofFrance. The Group operates a fleet of approximately540 mixer trucks to carry out site deliveries, including24 mixer trucks in its own fleet. In France, the Group(1)Syndicat National du Béton Prêt à l'Emploi (France), 2009.(2)Source : SNBPE, 2009.(3)Source : SNBPE, 2009.(4)Internal source.50 VICAT - 2009 registration document