VINCI - 2007 Annual Report

Strategy and outlook
>>> on new operations or by forming
alliances with local companies, whichever
is the most appropriate.
With regard to new territories, particularly
in Asia and Latin America, our two
international networks of specialised civil
engineering, Freyssinet and Solétanche
Bachy, will be our beachhead for
developing projects involving other
VINCI companies.
Most of our businesses will be able to
take advantage of the increasing impact
of environmental standards, especially in
France where the Grenelle Environment
Forum is going to generate very large
programmes of construction and
renovation of buildings and infrastructure.
Our ability to design solutions that
provide high environmental value added
and integrate them into comprehensive
off erings will be a strength for participating
in such projects and meeting
sustained demand. Similarly, the
expertise we have developed over
several decades in the construction and
decommissioning of nuclear plants
should enable us to benefi t from the new
wave of investment in that sector.
Business growth will also be stimulated
over time by extending our presence in
the value chain of our various activities,
together with fi ner segmentation of our
markets and business lines, enabling us
to create new off erings. Our motorway
and car park operators may, for example,
extend their business lines to include
services that support mobility.
Our order book at 31 December 2007
stood at a very high level (€21.5 billion),
having increased 20% over the year, and
represented 10 months of average
business activity for our contracting
business lines (energy, roads and
construction).
In addition, business in 2008 will benefi t
from the full-year impact of acquisitions
made in 2007 and, in motorway
concessions, from increased traffi c due
to the recent opening of new sections.
12 VINCI 2007 Annual Report
These factors, combined with our
positioning in markets that are
structurally buoyant for the long term
and the relevance of our integrated
concession-construction business
model, give us good visibility for 2008
and beyond.
Against this backdrop, VINCI is
expecting further business growth of
about 10% in 2008.
Making a success of our
management model
Our management model, which is
inseparable from our business model, is
what drives our performance. It refl ects a
fi rm belief, the underlying principle of our
entrepreneurial culture: our performance
depends entirely on the energy of the
people who work for our companies.
Founded on a decentralised organisation
and the principles of independence,
responsibility and trust, this model
boosts the performance of each profi t
centre, located close to its market and
customers, and of each employee, who
can give free rein to his or her talent
within the scope of clearly defi ned game
rules, the most important of which is
transparency. Encouraging individual
initiative goes hand in hand with
networking teams and skills, promoting
cross-business activities and adopting a
project approach. In this vision, the
processes that govern the company are
fi rst and foremost those of interaction
between people. This management
method, which is the cultural pillar
common to all our companies and
employees, irrespective of the diversity
of their business activities and
geographical spread, is what guarantees
cohesion and gives us outstanding agility
in each of our markets.
01
01 VINCI’s management model,
which drives the Group’s performance,
is founded on the principles
of independence and decentralisation.
02 VINCI has developed expertise in the
nuclear sector over several decades.
03 The Group will also seek growth in
targeted markets outside Europe. Pictured
here, a project in the United States.
02
03