6 - Vicat

9EXAMINATION OFTHE FINANCIALCONDITIONAND RESULTS9.1. Introduction 709.1.1. Summary of the Group’s 2009 results 719.1.2. Elements having an impact on resultof operations 729.1.3. Critical accounting policies 739.1.4. Elements of the income statement 749.1.5. Effect of modifications to the scope andexchange rate variations 749.2. Comparison of results for 2009 and 2008 759.2.1. Change in consolidated sales 759.2.2. Change in operating profit 779.2.3. Change in financial result 829.2.4. Change in taxes 829.2.5. Change in net profit 829.3. Comparison of the results of 2008 and2007 82The following presentation and analysis shall be readin conjunction with the entire Registration Document,in particular the Group’s consolidated financialstatements for the years ended on December 31,2007, 2008 and 2009, prepared in accordance withInternational Financial Reporting Standards or “IFRS”(see Section 20.1. “Accounting policies” of thisRegistration Document), on which this analysis wasbased.9.1. INTRODUCTIONAs of the date of this Registration Document, theGroup is present in eleven countries and is activein nine with its main businesses being Cement,Ready-mixed concrete and Aggregates. The Grouphas organized its teams by business line in order tomanage its activities. This choice is explained by thefact that the Cement business on one hand and theReady-mixed concrete and Aggregates businesseson the other hand are based on different economicmodels and affect different customers. Accordingly,the Group manages its activities and allocates its resourcesby business line in all the markets where itoperates. Nonetheless, the capital-intensive natureof this industry often leads the Group to coordinateits businesses by market, in order to improve theoverall efficiency of its organization.70 VICAT - 2009 registration document