6 - Vicat

12 12.2.Information on trendsTrends and ObjectivesGroup’s industrial and commercial position ;• The success of its expansion in Kazakhstan and India.12.2.2. Trends up to 2012The interruption in economic trends over the courseof 2008 and continued in 2009 and 2010 does notallow the Group to give precise trends up to 2012.Nevertheless, on the basis of the plans “Performance2010“ and “Performance Plus“, the Group is ready totake part in the economic upturn, as soon as it begins.The Group continues to pursue its cost reductionefforts following completion of the ”Performance2010“ Plan initiated in 2006 and will continue withthe complementary efforts put in place in the contextof the “Performance Plus” Plan.In the context of continuing the “Performance 2010”Plan and against the background of strong volatilityin energy costs, the Group will maintain its objectiveof increasing the share of alternative fuels in the totalamount of thermal energy used.The Group is also continuing its policy of increasingsales prices, designed to offset the rise in energycosts, within the limits of the commercial constraintsimposed by the situation in some markets.12.2.3. Industrial investmentsAs explained in section 5.2 “Investments” of thisRegistration Document as well as in the previousparagraph, the Group has completed its industrialinvestment program under the “Performance 2010”Plan. The additional capacity resulting from thecompletion of the program is, therefore, around6 million tonnes, to which must be added a 1.1 milliontonnes capacity in Kazakhstan and a 5 million tonnescapacity in India.of this Registration Document, the constructionof a greenfield plant by Vicat Sagar in India. This5.5 million tonnes capacity cement plant willcomprise two production lines for a total investmentin the area of US $ 650 million. The first line shouldbe operational in mid 2012. (also see sections 5.2.2“Main investments in progress and planned”, 6.3.1.7(j) “Overview of the cement market”, and 9.1.5“Effect of modifications to the consolidation scopeand exchange rate fluctuations”).After completion of the “Performance 2010” Plan,the overall amount of industrial investment shouldstay steady, amounting in 2011 to approximately€ 360 million in connection with, notably, theconstruction of the greenfield plant by Vicat Sagarin India.In accordance with the financial policy implementedby the Group (see section 10.3.1 “Financial Policy”,of this Registration Document), investments arefinanced from the Group’s own resources. Theconstruction of greenfield plants gives rise todedicated financing provided by local subsidiaries.The financing for the Kazakhstan project was set upin 2008, and that for the project in India was finalizedduring the 1 st half of 2010.The objectives shown above should not beconsidered as estimates or forecasts but merely astargets included in the Group’s business plans, inparticular the investment program described above,and bearing in mind the expected short-term trends.It is impossible to provide profit forecasts from theinformation provided, due to the fact that the Groupoperates its business in different sectors.The majority of the capacity increases were inemerging countries, bringing the capacity in thesecountries to over 18 million tonnes, by including Indiaand Kazakhstan, out of a total of almost 27 milliontonnes. Consequently, between 2006 and 2010, the“Performance 2010” Plan, the construction of thegreenfield Jambyl Cement plant in Kazakhstan, startedat the end of 2010, and the acquisition of a majoritystake in Bharathi Cement in India, enabled the Groupto refocus its center of gravity towards the emergingcountries, which now represent 68 % of the Group’sglobal capacity, compared with 44 % previously.This trend will continue with, as indicated in section5.2.2 “Main investments in progress and planned”94 VICAT 2010 registration document