6 - Vicat

20information on the assets and liabilities,financial position and income statements of the issuer20Financial20.7. significant changes to the financial or commercial situationsought a means to rationalize the conditions ofsupply of cement to the island. They had to makesignificant efforts to maintain continuous and regularsupplies of cement meeting French standards toCorsica, without a rise in the cost of transport forthe dealers, thus allowing unchanged cement sellingprices despite the withdrawal of a significant Statesubsidy.During the period in question, foreign imports toCorsica grew by almost 50 %. Consequently, theCompany considers that the Commission did notestablish that this scheme prevented dealers frombeing supplied with cement from abroad, which doesnot, in any case, offer the guarantees of continuity ofsupply and compliance with the standards requiredin the majority of construction works contracts.The Company is thus surprised to be fined inconsideration of a legal argument which it alsoconsiders runs counter to the work undertaken bythe European Commission as regards reform ofcompetition law in recent years.Under a judgment of May 6, 2008, the Paris Courtof Appeal overturned the deferred decision of theCompetition Commission, but only in respect ofthe amount of the fines imposed, and in particularreduced the amount of the fine imposed on theCompany to € 4.5 million.Under a judgment of July 7, 2009, the CommercialDivision of the Cour de Cassation (SupremeCourt of Appeal) ruled that the Court of Appealhad not justified its judgment in law “since it hadnot investigated if, in the absence of agreementsconcluded with their customers, the companiesLafarge and Vicat, would have been able to acton the market in question to a significant extentindependently of their competitors, their customersand the consumers”. Consequently, the Cour deCassation quashed and partially annulled thejudgment of May 6, 2008, and sent the parties backto the Paris Court of Appeal, differently constituted.On the basis of the decisions of the Court of Appeal,the € 8 million provision made in 2007 was reduced to€ 4.5 million in the financial statements for the yearended December 31, 2008 and retained at thislevel in the financial statements for the year endedDecember 31, 2010.20.6.3. Disputes relating to operating licensesSome environmental protection associationsregularly file contentious civil actions with a view toobtaining the cancellation of permits or operatinglicenses granted by the prefecture. The Company,in all cases, organizes its defense and files newapplications for operating licenses or permits toensure normal supply to its factories.Other than the disputes described above, there areno government, judicial or arbitration proceedingsof which the Group is aware, which are in abeyanceor with which it, or any proportionally consolidatedsubsidiary, is threatened, which may have or havehad in the past 12 months a material adverse effecton its activity, its financial position or its income. (1)20.7. Significant changesto the financial orcommercial situationTo the knowledge of the Company, there has beenno significant change to the Company’s financial orcommercial position since December 31, 2010.On referral, the Paris Court of Appeal concludedin a judgment of April 15, 2010 that there was nocollective dominant position on the Corsican market.As the referral Court, nevertheless, decided to retainthe fines imposed on the Company, after havingconcluded that at least one of the offences wasunfounded, a new appeal has been allowed.(1)Excluding any subsidiaries consolidated by the equity method.186 VICAT 2010 registration document