+1 - Solvay

6
Solvay Global Annual Report 2007
“ Ready
for tomorrow”
2007: a fourth
excellent year
For the fourth year in a row, the
Group posted excellent results.
In 2007 our sales rose by 2%
(+ 4% at constant exchange rates)
to EUR 9.6 billion. The operating
results were 9% above the record
level of 2006, to EUR 1.2 billion.
Our three Sectors realized record
operating results; Chemicals
advanced by 9%, Plastics by 8%
and Pharmaceuticals posted similar
results to 2006.
In the Pharmaceuticals Sector, we
have seen remarkable sales growth
in certain emerging countries
such as India, Brazil, Mexico and
Turkey. The integration of Fournier
Pharma is nearing completion, with
promising projects shaping up in the
fenofibrate franchise. The FDA’ s
(Food and Drug Administration)
request for additional data on
bifeprunox (anti-schizophrenia drug)
will mean delay. In our eyes this
delay does not call into question
either the value of this new com-
pound, which offers major thera-
peutic benefits for patients, or the
quality of the contributions of our
Research and Development teams.
In the Chemicals Sector, our
investments at Devnya (Bulgaria)
are strengthening our leadership in
soda ash. Our hydrogen peroxide
mega-plant in Belgium, which will
supply the BASF/Dow propylene
oxide facility, is nearing completion.
This will be followed by a second
plant of the same type of Thailand.
It has also been decided to build,
again in Thailand, a major plant
to produce epichlorohydrin using
the EPICEROL ® process. This
confirms the competitiveness of
these processes, which are direct
outcomes of our Innovation thrust.
2007 has been an eventful year
for Plastics. We have made
remarkable progress in Specialty
Polymers, with widening product
ranges and increasing numbers of
applications contributing to growth
and reducing the Sector’s sensitivity
to economic cycles. We also
reached agreement with Sibur on a
joint venture (RusVinyl) to build and
operate a world-class integrated
vinyl production plant. This unit
will be the largest of its kind in
Russia. We also approved a vinyls
extension project in Brazil, including
production of ethylene from canesugar
alcohol, i.e. without using
fossil fuels.
History moving ahead
These few examples illustrate the
accelerated pursuit of our strategy
of sustainable, profitable growth,
by extending our product portfolio
in activities in which we have a high
level of control, and by establishing
solid geographic platforms from
which to expand and strengthen
our global presence.
We have cited India, Thailand,
Russia, Bulgaria and Brazil, all
emerging countries with high
growth potential. Let us not forget
South Korea, where we are present
with fluorinated specialties, nor
of course China (ultrapure H 2 O 2 ,
specialty polymers, hydrogen
fluoride, pharmaceuticals), which
is surging ahead more than
ever before. This geographic
diversification is also strengthened
by Inergy, the world’s leading
producer of plastic fuel systems,
which is a joint venture between
Solvay and Plastic Omnium.
These choices place us in the
flow of History, as we continually
seek to remain in step with a
constantly changing world. Several
developments seem inevitable:
globalization with an attendant
redistribution of labor and its
wealth; major migratory flows
of underprivileged populations
towards the wealthier parts of our
planet; demographic imbalances
– aging and declining populations
in “privileged” zones, offset by very
rapid growth in less prosperous
regions; the race for energy and
raw materials for ever-growing
economic development; and finally,
the sustainability of our ecosystem,
under increasing strain from an
exponentially-expanding world
population.
Any industrial group wanting to
develop in a sustainable and
profitable manner must move with,
if not ahead of, History. Adaptation
and anticipation are vital here, the
more so as the new constraints
imposed by Society come
packaged with multiple regulatory
constraints, like the Kyoto Protocol
or, beginning this year, the European
REACh regulation addressed at
the world of chemistry. Aimed at
protecting public health and the
environment, REACh requires
the chemical industry to prove its
mastery of the risks of the products
it places on the market. Having
anticipated these changes, Solvay
is well prepared for them in a spirit
of converting constraints into
opportunities.
Personal development
and Sustainable
Development
In 2007 we launched numerous
initiatives in the Human