Investor Relations

Dear Shareholders, 2010 was a particularly challenging year for the Company in light of the general operating
environment. But, at the same time, it was highly significant in terms of the results we achieved and the
transactions we concluded.

In the macroeconomic environment the global economy is attempting to come out of a recession triggered principally by the financial shock in August 2007 and the ensuing crisis in September 2008. However, the recovery underway is
still muted. Largely supported by expansive anti-crisis policy measures, it is being hampered by recurrent financial tension and is unable to provide sufficient stimulus to employment. Then, at the start of 2011, another variable was thrown into the mixture –
various political systems in a number of North African and Middle Eastern countries became unstable, resulting in the toppling of the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and the complicated situation in Libya. The earthquake in Japan has added further uncertainty as to the future of the world economy. In any event, this is a two-speed recovery. Apart from a few exceptions,
emerging countries are growing strongly in terms of both domestic demand (by way of consumption and investments) and foreign trade. Industrialised countries are benefiting from increased external demand, but domestic demand remains weak. At the Toronto Summit last June, the G20 leaders made a commitment to halve deficits by 2013 and stabilise debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016. They also agreed to speed up the process of fiscal consolidation in those countries facing the greatest difficulties. And they committed to coordinating national economic policies under a coherent framework, in order to guarantee strong,
sustainable and balanced growth in the future. However, conditions in the various regions and industrial sectors vary widely,
and we need to consider this in greater detail in order to assess the impact on the Company. (...)