VINCI - 2008 annual report

MESSAGE
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
YVES-THIBAULT DE SILGUY
Chairman of the Board of VINCI
VINCI held its course in 2008, demonstrating the resilience of its
business model in a more difficult economic and financial environment.
We feel calmly confident for 2009, but remain vigilant and are keeping a
particularly close watch on evolving market trends and on developments
in our business lines. While the economic climate is clearly affecting
VINCI and its businesses, it is also highlighting the strength of our positioning and the quality of our management. And I am happy to see that both
the board and senior management share a common vision of our corporate strategy.
More than ever, we need strong corporate governance and a stable shareholder base to reinforce the confidence that we enjoy. This year, the board
has co-opted a new director, Jean-Pierre Lamoure, chairman of Soletanche Freyssinet. We are also proposing the appointment to the board of
Michael Pragnell, former chief executive officer of Syngenta AG, a world leader in agribusiness.
On the issue of corporate governance, my priorities for the board remain full involvement of directors, thorough preparation of the issues before
them, high quality debate and collaborative decision-making. In 2008, the board met eight times and its committees worked hard to prepare its
meetings. This was particularly true of the audit committee, which met five times in 2008. In line with changes in European regulations, it reviewed
the systems and mechanisms for internal control and risk management. The Report of the Chairman (see page 150) describes our internal control
and risk management procedures. In addition, maintaining its firm commitment to our current credit rating, the board is closely monitoring VINCI’s
financial position and debt.
A stable shareholder base boosts confidence. It is a source of both satisfaction and pride that in the current financial crisis, our highly diversified
shareholder base has undergone little change and has continued to support the company. Our employees too have proven their confidence in
the Group by maintaining their share ownership at a stable level. At the same time, the number of individual shareholders and their share in the
company have continued to increase. Our principal institutional investors have remained loyal. All this is proof that VINCI’s strategy, management,
profit, outlook and financial situation retain the backing of all our shareholders.
Although we have every reason to feel confident in the short term, it is my responsibility to ensure that VINCI retains its strengths in the longer
term. The company must continue to innovate in all areas in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead, to successfully embrace the “green
revolution” and to continue to move up the value chain. It is precisely for this reason that we set up “The City Factory”, a think-tank that aims to
facilitate dialogue on sustainable mobility and eco-urbanism, bringing together designers, builders and managers of our cities. We will continue
down that path in 2009, broadening our focus, breaking down barriers and bringing a wider range of options into the equation in an ongoing
process of innovation – inventing tomorrow’s cities today.
To sum up my message in a single word, it is “confidence”. Not blind confidence, but calm and carefully considered confidence; vigilant confidence
on which we can build the future and ensure VINCI’s sustainable and profitable development.
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