LATEST NEWS
19/03/08
Consolidated financial statements 2007:
SNCF CONTINUES ALONG ITS PATH OF PROFITABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Turnover up 8% to €23.7b
- EBIT, excluding one-off effects from the changeover to IFRS standards, at 4.2% of turnover
- Net income at €657m (+103%)
- Group part net income at €1 042m (x2.8)
- Free cash-flow of €302m; dividend payment to the State of €131m, of which €50m earmarked for expansion of the railways
- Net indebtedness at an historic low: €4.5b€
The new Board of Directors, meeting on the 19th March and chaired by Guillaume Pepy, approved the consolidated financial statements for 2007. These financial statements are presented for the first time in accordance with IFRS standards.
Growth in activity driven by strong internal commercial momentum and external growth:
2007 turnover was €23.7b, up 8%. This resulted from growth in activity reported in each branch of activity (Transport and Logistics, France Europe Passengers, Proximités, Infrastructure and Engineering) and from the Géodis acquisition of Wilson.
Positive results for the 4th year running:
The key earnings indicators show a further improvement in the company’s financial model.
Thus, EBIT, excluding one-off effects from the changeover to IFRS standards, stood at €994m, up 15% compared with 2006 and representing 4.2% of 2007 turnover.
Net income doubled to €657m.
Group part net income again exceeded the symbolic one billion euro mark, reaching €1.04b.
Improvements throughout all the branches:
These profits confirm the relevance of SNCF’s development strategy, which is now underpinned by commercial momentum in the passenger transport branches and which benefits from continued recovery in transport and logistics and from the new deal resulting from the multi-annual management agreement for the infrastructure and engineering branch.
Results that confirm the progress of the Company’s action plans:
The “Nouvelle Dynamique des Proximités” programme for improving service efficiency has now received additional funding of up to €115m;
Rail freight is now seeing a turnaround (+3% in traffic income over the first ten months of 2007), which underlines the relevance of the strategy based on the “Haut Débit Ferroviaire” (high-speed rail network).
Development now funded independently:
Cash flow rose 13.5%, making it possible to finance €1.6b of net investments in Company equity and free up for the first time a positive free cash flow of €302m. Net indebtedness reached an historic low of €4.5b and the net debt/equity ratio again improved, reaching 0.5, a position that provides new room for manoeuvre for the expansion of the Group.
At the Board meeting, the new Chairman, Guillaume Pepy, stressed that “with an overall financial situation unprecedented in its history, SNCF is resolutely following an ambitious path of development, which is at the same time fully customer-oriented, profitable and useful in the general interest. SNCF is going to be able to speed up its transformation in order to plan its strategic sectors of eco-mobility, the result of French excellence in transport, at the best European, indeed world, level”
