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By admin, November 30, 2011 12:47 pm

CRIME REPORTS

Kootenai County Sheriff

Monday

8:24 a.m.: Damages of about $100 were reportedly finished to the
door and close of a duck shelter on private skill in a 2600
block of West Echo Drive nearby Post Falls. Telephone wire valued at
$11,000 was reported stolen from a building.

11:21 a.m.: Silverware and diverse equipment with a total
value of about $4,000 were reported stolen from a chateau in the
4200 retard of South Stach Road nearby Coeur d’Alene.

3:47 p.m.: A blue and china 1985 Ford pickup valued during $5,000
was reported stolen from a chateau in a 1800 retard of East
Foxborough Court nearby Hayden.

9:56 p.m.: A Springfield pistol, jewelry, electronic equipment
and other equipment with a sum value of about $3,300 were reported
stolen from a chateau in a 8800 retard of North Huntington Court
near Hayden.

DIVORCES GRANTED

Chad J. Johnson from Sara N. Johnson

Dawn M. Cranor from Matthew J. Cranor

Crystal L. Lucas from Paul A. Lucas

Heath O. White from Keeler White

Keith Williams from Shelli Dodge

LAWSUIT

FIA Card Services N. A., v. Jessica Peebles, seeking remuneration of
$13,026.58.

JUDGMENTS

JP Development et al., v. Victoria Mallett, was awarded judgment
of $7,194.77.

Asset Acceptance et al., v. Vic Larsen, was awarded visualisation of
$14,333.74.

Chapman Financial Services Inc., v. Jerome K. Johnson et al.,
was awarded visualisation of $38,548.17.

SENTENCINGS

Judge Lansing Haynes

Christopher M. Parks, 26, Coeur d’Alene: 90 days in jail, three
years determinate cage time and 7 years indeterminate
time, cage suspended, $555,50 in fines, $573.45
restitution, work recover and 4 years trial for domestic
battery-traumatic injury.

Laurie A. Mayfield, 47, Rathdrum: Three years determinate
penitentiary time and 3 years indistinct time, penitentiary
suspended, $1,420.50 in fines, driver’s permit dangling for one
year and 3 years trial for pushing underneath a influence.

Judge John Luster

Justin J. Irwin, 20, Post Falls: One year 6 months determinate
penitentiary time and one year 6 months indistinct time,
penitentiary suspended, $1,505.50 in fines, 100 hours community
service and dual years trial for burglary.

William E. Hoygaard, 22, Sandpoint: Three years determinate
penitentiary time and 4 years indistinct time, retained
jurisdiction with credit for time served for probation
violation.

Sharon J. Zeth aka Sharon J. Huntley aka Sharon J. Denham, 49,
Coeur d’Alene: One year 6 months determinate cage time
and one year 6 months indistinct time, cage suspended,
$580 in fines, 100 hours village use and dual years probation
for possession of a tranquil substance.

Jeremiah L. Stephens, 33, Post Falls: Two years determinate
penitentiary time and 4 years indistinct time, penitentiary
suspended, $1,000 in fines, driver’s permit dangling for one year
and 3 years trial for pushing underneath a influence.

Judge John Mitchell

Alexander V. Brune, 20, Coeur d’Alene: Three years determinate
penitentiary time and 9 years indistinct time with credit for
time served for orthodox rape.

Kathleen Pearson-Douglass, 44, Coeur d’Alene: Three years
determinate cage time and 5 years indistinct time
with credit for time served, cage dangling and 4 years
probation for trial violation.

Thomas L. Dieruf, 28, Coeur d’Alene: Two years determinate
penitentiary time and dual years indistinct time with credit for
time served, defended jurisdiction, $265.50 in fines and $100
restitution for possession of a tranquil substance.

Robert P. Fowler, 50, Coeur d’Alene: One year 6 months
determinate cage time and 3 years indistinct time
with credit for time served, defended jurisdiction, $265.50 in
fines and $100 compensation for possession of a controlled
substance.

Todd C. Mitchell, 44, Hayden:

Read More At: here

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By admin, November 19, 2011 11:24 am

Dark fiber is a growing field where there’s always something happening. Here are some of the news stories from the past week.

TMC’s (News – Alert) Madhubanti Rudra reported that Louisville, Colorado-based national provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral colocation and interconnection services Zayo Group (News – Alert) announced that it is expanding its fiber footprint in Nashville.

Zayo provides fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral colocation and interconnection services over regional, metro and fiber-to-the-tower networks. Zayo’s network assets include over 24,000 route miles, connecting 153 markets across 31 states plus Washington D.C.

Additionally, Zayo has 4,400 buildings on-net, 2,000 cell towers on-net, and over 170,000 square feet of colocation space. Zayo’s clientele includes wireline and wireless carriers, data centers, Internet content and services companies, high bandwidth enterprises as well as federal, state and local government agencies.

On completion of this expansion project, Zayo will be able to expand its reach into new markets. By doubling the route mileage for the greater Nashville area from 40 to 78 route miles, Zayo will be able to serve the markets of Franklin, Brentwood and Oak Hill with dark fiber, Gigabit Ethernet and wavelength services.

Ashok Bindra noted that according to market research firm Ovum (News – Alert), despite the availability of components and equipments, market demand for the 10 Gbit per second Ethernet Passive Optical Network standard, also known as 10G EPON, outside of China will remain low until 2013.

In a new report, the independent telecoms analyst states that while components companies have been under pressure by equipment vendors and service providers to develop 10G EPON components, the momentum has slowed down.

In a statement, Julie Kunstler, Ovum analyst and author of the report, commented, “The pressure worked and multiple vendors have commercial-ready 10G EPON components and testing has been carried out by service providers…However, while several provinces in China have begun deployments, 10G EPON equipment deployments will remain negligible until late 2012 in China, and 2013 for other global regions,” added Kunstler. “Demand for XG-PON will also remain low, although the readiness of XG-PON components and equipment is lagging that of 10G EPON,” continued Kunstler.

As per the Ovum report, demand for 10G EPON and XG-PON has slackened for several reasons. Firstly, China’s service providers are favoring the deployment of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) versus fiber-to-the building (FTTB) due to the operational costs of FTTB and competition around bandwidth.

And Rajani Baburajan wrote that Telx, an interconnection and colocation provider in North American markets, announced that Trading Continuity Services (TCS), a provider of data protection and disaster recovery/business continuity solutions, has joined Telx Financial Business Exchange (FBX).

The Telx FBX is designed to deliver secure, reliable colocation infrastructure in prime locations. The partnership enables TCS to offer Telx’s financial markets customers secure, low latency access to its redundant, fully managed Data Protection offerings.

Telx FBX enables ultra-low latency access to an ecosystem of market participants such as trading venues, market data providers, buy-side and sell-side firms and network service providers.

TCS is a colocation and InterConnection customer in Telx’s strategically-located data center in downtown Chicago.

“We give trading firms a competitive advantage by delivering an end-to-end, fully managed Data Protection and backup that ensures high availability for the best electronic trading experience possible,” said Jim McDonough, managing partner at TCS.

David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.

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By admin, November 2, 2011 10:29 am

Wednesday, Nov 02, 2011

Dow Electrical & Telecommunications, a global leader in technology and material science solutions for the power and telecommunications industries, announced today at the 2011 Khimia exhibition in Moscow an agreement with Uncomtech Group to become a Dow Inside licensee. Uncomtech, the largest cable holding company in Russia based on copper conversion, joins Sevkabel Holding to become the second Dow Inside licensee in the Russian Federation.

Filip Tauson, Commercial Director Europe/Middle East/Africa, Dow Electrical & Telecommunications said, “Dow Inside is a key component of our strategy to continue to grow and provide our customers with the support and innovative technology they need to succeed, and we are delighted to welcome Uncomtech to our Dow Inside partnership program.”

Dow Inside, a recent initiative benefiting cable manufacturers, utilities and telecommunications firms alike, further reinforces Dow’s commitment to these industries. This is achieved by helping provide better cable reliability and long service life based on exceptional materials, dedicated R&D, deep industry knowledge and close working relationships with cable manufacturers, utilities and other power industry influencers.

“This partnership gives us important advantages in terms of materials, technologies, supply and support. We will be able to differentiate our cables and provide our customers with high quality, long-life cables that meet strict international quality standards,” added Andrey Pisanny, Financial Director, Uncomtech.

Under the terms of the agreement, Uncomtech will use DOW ENDURANCEâ„¢ insulation, semiconductive and jacketing materials to manufacture medium, high and extra high voltage power cables. In exchange, Dow Electrical & Telecommunications will provide advanced technology, proven products and enhanced service that will help give both companies a competitive edge in this demanding and growing market.

About Dow Electrical & Telecommunications

Dow Electrical & Telecommunications, a business unit in the Performance Plastics Division of The Dow Chemical Company(“Dow”), is a leading global provider of products, technology, solutions and knowledge that sets standards for reliability, longevity, efficiency, ease of installation and protection that the power and telecommunications industries can count on in the transmission, distribution and consumption of power, voice and data. Understanding that collaboration is essential to success, Dow Electrical & Telecommunications works together with cable makers, other industry suppliers, utilities, municipalities, testing institutes and other organizations around the world to help develop solutions and create mutual value that will sustain these industries for years to come. For more information, visit dow.com/electrical.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at dow.com.

About Uncomtech

Uncomtech is the largest cable holding company in Russia based on copper conversion, and represents two manufacturers, Irkutskkabel and Kirskabel. Their high quality products are widely recognized in Russia and abroad. They produce 60 percent of high voltage overhead lines in the Russian Federation, and are the second largest manufacturer of low voltage self-supporting wires. As a licensee of Furukawa, Uncomtech utilizes UNICLEANâ„¢ in their high voltage lines.

Source: Dow Electrical & Telecommunications 

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By admin, October 27, 2011 6:23 am

Thursday, Oct 27, 2011

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) is expected by analysts to report earnings of $0.32 per share on sales of $304.0 million in 3 days. Analysts also expect earnings of $1.40 per share for the current full-year period. Encore Wire reported earnings of $0.22 per share a year ago, on sales of $242.8 million. In the previous quarter, the company reported earnings of $0.40 per share, missing consensus estimates of $0.49.

Click here for full article on Financial News Network

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By admin, October 24, 2011 5:53 am

Monday, Oct 24, 2011

The net loss during the Q3 of 2011 amounts to SAR 14.8 million as against net loss of 71.5 million for the same quarter of last year, a decrease of 79 % and against profit of SAR 22.6 million for the previous quarter.

The gross profit during the Q3 of 2011 amounts to SAR 22.8 million as against loss of SAR 35.2 million for the same quarter of last year.

The operating loss during the Q3 amounts to SAR 19 million as against loss of SAR 80.8 million for the same quarter of last year, a decrease of 76 %.

The net profit during the nine months amounts to SAR 28 million as against net loss of SAR 97.0 million for the same period of last year.

The profit per share during the nine months of 2011 amounts to SAR 0.37 as against loss of SAR 1.28 for the same period of last year.

The gross profit during the 9 months of 2011 amounts to SAR 142.3 million as against SAR 7.5 million for the same period of last year an increase of 1794 %.

The operating profit during the nine months amounts to SAR 22.5 million as against loss of SAR 114.3 million for the same period of last year.

The decrease in losses in the Q3 of 2011 compared to the same quarter last year is due to increase in sales and gradual improvement in profits. The improvement in the profits for the nine month period of the current year compared to the losses during the same period last year is due to the increase in sales and improvement in profit margins.

The networth of the company has been temporarily reduced due to reduction in cumulative changes in fair value as explained in the Notes to the Financial Statements, Note No.8. This arises from the fact that we have confirmed orders, exceeding over SAR 2.1 billion that have been fully hedged and these fixed prices when compared with the lower prevailing end September market metal price impact the Cumulative changes in fair value adversely. These orders will be shipped out with positive margins in the subsequent period and this reduction in the networth will then be restored. This is the normal manner of dealing with such fluctuations in our business, and the hedging mechanism keeps the company fully protected against day to day metal price variations.

Source: SteelGuru

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By admin, September 15, 2011 3:48 am

Thursday, Sep 15, 2011

Major cablemaker expects demand to pick up for all operations after regional upheaval squeezed sales for the first six months of the year

Egypt’s El Sewedy Electric says it expects to improve its performance during the second half of 2011 as demand for its products recovers.

Cables, the group’s main product, saw sales volumes increase by 13 per cent during the second quarter of 2011, on the back of heightened government spending in Egypt and Syria, and unprecedented growth in demand from Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. 

The group also said it expects its transformers segment is to perform better during the second half of 2011, after a spate of new orders, mainly from Syria.  

Beltone Financial said in a note to investors Tuesday that it was maintaining its recommendation on buying Sewedy stock. The investment bank said it expected a stagnant market for the group’s products in Egypt, Syria and Libya, but believed it would be counterbalanced by robust exports in the rest of Africa and the Gulf.  

”We continue to maintain our optimistic outlook for the Turnkey segment, driven by the growth potential awaiting the African infrastructure sector,” Beltone said. The turnkey segment was the best performer for the group during the second quarter of the year, witnessing 20 per cent growth in its backlog on the segment’s favourable exposure to the markets in Africa.

Source: Ahram Online

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By admin, August 26, 2011 12:45 pm

Friday, Aug 26, 2011

Integration with Draka: new organisational and management structure launched
Target synergies revised up: to €150 million per annum from previous €100 million

The first-half 2011 results consolidate Draka only for the period March-June 2011

• Sales: €3,574 million (organic change +13.0%)
• Adj EBITDA: €269 million (€181 million in 1H 2010)
• Adj Operating Income: €204 million (€143 million in 1H 2010)
• Adj Net Profit: €113 million (€77 million in 1H 2010)
• Net Financial Position: €1,378 million (€459 million at 31 December 2010)

The Board of Directors of Prysmian S.p.A. has approved today the consolidated results for the first half of 2011.

“The first half of 2011 has confirmed the signs of recovery in demand seen from the second half of last year, resulting in a volume increase for the majority of businesses”, states CEO Valerio Battista. “The half-year results report significant growth in sales and especially in profitability. The integration with Draka will further enhance the Group’s competitiveness: the launch of the new organisational structure at the start of July marks a fundamentally important step forward in the integration process. The new Group has become operational and aims to achieve the first synergies as early as 2011, having also raised the annual run-rate target to €150 million. Despite continued signs of market weakness and recent turmoil on the financial front, we nonetheless confirm our targets for the year thanks to a strong order book ensuring ample sales visibility for the higher value-added businesses”.�

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Sales amounted to €3,574 million compared with €2,148 million in the equivalent period of 2010. Assuming the same group perimeter (excluding the Draka contribution of €921 million for the period March-June 2011, net of €10 million in intragroup transactions) and excluding metal price and exchange rate effects, the organic change was +13.0%. Draka’s sales for the entire six-month period January-June 2011 came to €1,322 million, reporting organic growth of 6%. Six-month organic growth for the new Prysmian Group (including Draka for the full half year) would have been 10.6%.

Adjusted EBITDA increased by 48.3% to €269 million from €181 million in the first half of 2010. This increase is attributable to €20 million from organic sales growth by all businesses within the Prysmian perimeter and €68 million from the consolidation of Draka since March 2011. In terms of business, the improvement primarily came from the Utilities business and the Telecom operating segment.

EBITDA amounted to €26 million. The decrease from €175 million in the first half of 2010 is primarily attributable to net non-recurring expenses of €243 million, of which €200 million in provisions for risks arising from ongoing antitrust investigations. In view of recent developments in the European Commission’s investigation, the receipt of a notice of indictments from the same Commission and the information that it has been possible to obtain in relation to this process, Prysmian now believes that it is able to estimate the risk relating to all the jurisdictions concerned, except Brazil, and so has recognised a provision of €200 million, on top of the €5 million provided in the past.

Adjusted operating income amounted to €204 million, up 42.2% from €143 million in the first half of 2010. This increase is attributable to €20 million in higher profits generated by organic growth in the Prysmian perimeter and €41 million from the consolidation of Draka since March 2011.

Operating income, including the effects of non-recurring items and fair value changes in metal derivatives, was a negative €72 million versus a positive €115 million in the equivalent period of 2010. This change can be analysed as follows: decrease of €204 million in the pre-acquisition Prysmian Group’s operating income, primarily due to non-recurring expenses as well as the negative fair value change in metal derivatives; addition of €37 million from the first-time consolidation of Draka; negative impact of €20 million for adjusting acquired assets and liabilities to fair value in accordance with IFRS 3.

Net finance income and costs reported a negative balance of €62 million, compared with a negative €52 million in the first half of 2010. The negative change of €10 million is primarily due to the growth in net debt following the Draka acquisition (€501 million cash outlay plus €357 million for the consolidation of the Draka Group’s net financial position at 1 March 2011), but also reflects changes in the composition of financial structure after entering a Forward Start Credit Agreement for €1,070 million in January 2010, issuing a bond for €400 million in April 2010 and finalising a credit agreement for €800 million in March 2011. These new credit agreements have significantly extended the average maturity of the Group’s debt, which is now about 3.2 years. Another reason for the increase in finance costs is the rise in leverage following the Draka acquisition to a level now between 2.0x-2.5x for the ratio of net financial position to adusted EBITDA, leading to a slight increase in the spread applied to existing bank credit.

Adjusted net profit was up 47.0% to €113 million (€77 million in the first half of 2010); the increase is due to the growth in operating income and the first-time consolidation of Draka. The Net result was affected by the provision of €200 million for risks relating to antitrust investigations, resulting in a loss of €156 million compared with a profit of €44 million in the first half of 2010.

Net financial position at the end of June 2011 was €1,378 million, down from €1.460 million at 31 March 2011. The increase from €459 million at 31 December 2010 is attributable to the following factors:

- cash outlay of €501 million for the acquisition of Draka;
- consolidation of the Draka net financial position of €357 million as at 1 March 2011;
- net positive cash flows from operations of €216 million, before changes in net working capital;
- increase of €107 million in net working capital due to seasonal factors and the increase in metal prices;
- net operative investments of €46 million;
- payment of €36 million in dividends;
- net negative cash flows of €88 million primarily due to taxes and finance costs.

INTEGRATION WITH DRAKA AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

• Integration with Draka: target annual run-rate synergies revised up to €150 million
Following detailed review of the potential cost synergies from the Draka integration the annual run-rate target has been raised to €150 million (by 2015) from the previously announced figure of €100 million, while target cost synergies of €100 million by 2013 have been confirmed. Net restructuring costs to generate these synergies are expected in the region of €200 million over the integration period. The initial benefits are expected as early as the second half of the current year.

• New organisational and management structure launched
The launch of the new organisational and management structure, effective from July 2011 has marked a fundamentally important step forward in the integration process with Draka. With the aim of utilising best practice in both companies it has been decided to adopt a matrix organisational model in which the more local businesses are principally managed along geographical lines and the global businesses are managed vertically. Following a process involving and making the most of the Group’s best resources, the new management team has been selected, comprising more than 300 positions worldwide. At the same time as developing the new organisation, the Group has agreed and adopted a new Mission and a new branding strategy that will allow it to utilise and make the most of both the Prysmian and Draka brands.

• Investments of some €46 million in high-tech businesses
In line with its strategy, during the first half of 2011 the Group took forward its plans for developing high-tech businesses, making some €46 million in net operating investments (of which €37 million relating to the pre-acquisition perimeter), which was €15 million more than in the first half of 2010. These investments have concentrated on completing the new plant in Brazil for flexible offshore oil drilling pipes, which started operation at the end of June with the first 2.5″ and 4.0″ pipes delivered to Petrobras, and on expanding production capacity for high voltage cables in China and France and for submarine cables in Italy and Finland.

• Focus on growth in high-growth-potential businesses and countries
The new Prysmian Group further fortifies the focus on high-growth-potential businesses. In the renewable energy sector, where the Group was already leader in offshore wind farm links, it now has a stronger presence in industrial cables used in the construction of wind and solar installations. Thanks to the integration with Draka, the new Group has become leader in fibre optic cables, with production facilities around the globe and a wider product portfolio.
Geographically the new Group has a wider exposure to promising Asian markets following recent acquisitions in India and Russia that have allowed it to make significant progress in the plans to develop a presence in these markets.

ENERGY CABLES AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS

• AWARD OF HUDSON AND HELWIN II SUBMARINE PROJECTS
• UPTURN IN DEMAND FOR HIGH VOLTAGE UNDERGROUND CABLES
• CONTINUED VOLUME GROWTH FOR POWER DISTRIBUTION
• T&I: START OF THE YEAR VOLUME RECOVERY SLOWS IN SECOND QUARTER
• INDUSTRIAL: GOOD SECOND-QUARTER ORGANIC GROWTH. NEW PROJECTS SECURED IN OGP AND UMBILICALS

Sales to third parties by the Energy Cables and Systems segment amounted to €2,989 million (including the Draka contribution of €606 million for the period March-June 2011, net of €9 million in intragroup transactions). Net of metal price and exchange rate effects and changes in the group perimeter, organic growth was 12.3%, particularly thanks to an upturn in volumes and improvement in product mix. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €215 million, up 31.1% from €164 million in the first half of 2010. The increase reflects the contribution of €37 million by Draka (consolidated since March 2011) and the improvement of €14 million by the pre-acquisition perimeter.

Draka’s energy business reported €890 million in sales for the entire six-month period (January-June 2011), with organic growth of 4.3%. The Energy segment’s overall six-month organic growth (including the Draka perimeter for the full half year) would have been 10%.

Market trends and profitability will now be discussed for the Energy segment’s business areas but only with reference to the pre-acquisition perimeter (along with a few brief comments about the Draka perimeter).

Utilities
Sales to third parties by the Utilities business amounted to €1,047 million, reporting organic growth of 19.4% due to volume recovery in all business lines even if with differences in timing and between geographical areas. Organic sales growth converted into higher profitability, with adjusted EBITDA increasing to €134 million (+11.6% on €120 million in the first half of 2010), despite the rising cost of raw materials and strong competitive pressure particularly in emerging markets.

The Draka Utilities business, comprising power distribution and submarine cables, reported €57 million in sales in the first six months of 2011 (of which €42 million consolidated within Prysmian as from March 2011). The Group’s overall organic growth in the first six months of the year (including Draka for the full half year) would have been 20.2%.

Sales by the submarine business line increased on the prior year, confirming the Group’s technological and market leadership in major power interconnection projects and in connections for new renewable power generation sites, such as offshore wind farms. During the first half of the year Prysmian was awarded the Hudson project for a new submarine power line into the heart of Manhattan. Furthermore, following award of the contract to link the Helwin II offshore wind farm to mainland Germany, the Group has strengthened its position as a partner in one of the world’s most important programmes to develop renewable energy. Integration with Draka will allow the Group to enlarge its technological offering of medium voltage interarray submarine cabling. Thanks to investments underway in Italy and Finland, as from the third quarter the Group will have new production capacity to benefit from the growing demand. At the end of June the order book already provides sales visibility for about two and a half years.

Demand for high voltage underground cables confirmed the signs of recovery, allowing the Group to increase its sales. In Europe projects relating to renewables and improving the efficiency of existing grids were among the principal drivers of market growth. Another source of growth was development of new infrastructure in emerging countries, with new transmission grid projects secured in South America and, for the first time, in India. In North America the recovery was modest, while greater demand is expected in the second half in areas like Russia, China and the Middle East. However, profitability continues to be under pressure partly due to the upward trend in raw material prices. The order book provides sales visibility for about one year.

The power distribution business reported the first concrete signs of trend reversal, with an increase in demand thanks to the general recovery in energy consumption. North and East Europe, Brazil and Australia particularly drove the acceleration in demand, while the introduction of new P-Laser technology is proceeding positively. Overall sales reported double-digit growth (although it is worth recalling that the first half of 2010 was particularly weak), despite continued price pressure that nonetheless started to ease slightly during the second quarter.

Trade & Installers
Sales to third parties by the Trade & Installers business amounted to €835 million compared with €699 million in the first half of 2010, reporting organic growth of 3.3% although with mixed trends over the period. During the first quarter the beginnings of an upturn in the construction sector had generated signs of a recovery in cable demand, particularly in Europe. However, this trend failed to consolidate in the second quarter with demand returning to its level at the end of 2010 and renewed pressure on prices, particularly in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. North America reported a slight increase in volumes, although experiencing persistent price pressure, while South America continued to enjoy a positive trend both in volumes and prices. In terms of profitability, despite actions to improve industrial processes, adjusted EBITDA came to €19 million, largely in line with the first half of 2010.
Draka’s six-month sales amounted to €422 million (of which €289 million consolidated within the Prysmian perimeter for the period March-June 2011).The Group’s overall organic growth (including Draka for the full half year) would have been 2.2%.
The integration with Draka is a driver for potential improvement in the Group’s T&I competitiveness, thanks to optimisation of production capacity, leaner cost structure, sharing of best practice in customer service and stronger presence in higher value-added markets.

Industrial
Sales to third parties by the Industrial cables business amounted to €432 million (€344 million in the first half of 2010), reporting organic growth of 12.0%. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €25 million, posting a minor decrease of €1 million on the equivalent period in 2010.

In the first six months of 2011 Draka reported sales of €411 million (of which €284 million consolidated within Prysmian for the period March-June 2011) and organic growth of 4.8%. The Industrial business would have had overall organic growth (including Draka for the full half year) of 8.4%. Draka’s presence in the Industrial business is particularly important in geographical markets (such as North America) and product segments (infrastructure and elevator cables and renewable energy solutions) that complement those of Prysmian.

The market scenario has proved stable or slightly better. In terms of individual segments, OGP & SURF displayed an upturn in demand, particularly in APAC, North America, the Middle East and South America, where new orders for umbilicals were secured and the first flexible pipes delivered to Petrobras. In the renewables segment, wind energy drove growth in China and Australia, partly making up for weakness in Europe. The solar segment was affected in Europe by withdrawal of government subsidies, while new projects were acquired in Turkey and North America: volumes are expected to recover in the second half of the year. In the automotive segment, growth in the USA compensated for lower volumes in Japan, while Europe remained stable. Cables for the mining, transport, aerospace and nuclear sectors reported positive growth trends, while demand in the maritime sector and for dockside cranes was weak.

TELECOM CABLES AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS

• GOOD ORGANIC SALES GROWTH
• STRONG DEMAND FOR OPTICAL CABLES IN ALL GEOGRAPHICAL MARKETS
• IMPROVEMENT IN PROFITABILITY

Sales to third parties by the Telecom Cables and Systems segment amounted to €585 million (including €315 million for the consolidation of Draka from 1 March 2011, net of €1 million in intragroup transactions), reporting organic growth of 17.6%, particularly thanks to fibre optic cable volume growth in nearly all geographical markets and a volume upturn for copper cables. In particular, demand for optical cables in more developed countries has been driven by projects to expand metropolitan area networks, while the driver of growth in emerging countries has been the construction of large backbone infrastructure.

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €54 million with an increase of €37 million on the equivalent period in 2010 (following its consolidation from 1 March 2011, Draka’s contribution to this result was €31 million).

The integration with Draka represents a significant turning point for the Telecom business, by creating a world leader in terms of size and of the technology, products and services offered, particularly in the optical fibre and optical cables market.

Draka’s first-half Telecom sales amounted to €432 million, with organic growth of 9.5%. The Telecom segment’s overall six-month organic growth (including Draka for the full half year) would have been 12.5%.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK

The first six months of the year have confirmed the upward trend in demand and industrial production that started from the second quarter of 2010. The progressive upturn in global demand has been largely driven by growth in emerging markets, while recovery in Europe was weaker, partly because of deficit-cutting policies implemented in various countries. In the United States, government stimulus packages allowed demand to start recovering during the prior year. The growing concerns about Eurozone and US debt sustainability could however be a source of uncertainty over prospects for growth in global demand.
In such an economic context, the Group expects to see a limited recovery in 2011 for building wires, medium voltage cables for utilities and for those products in the Industrial sector most exposed to cyclical trends. Positive demand development is confirmed in the high value-added businesses of power transmission, renewable energy, Oil & Gas and fibre optic cables for major telecom operators.
Based on the results achieved in the first six months, combined with the size of the current order book, adjusted EBITDA for FY 2011 is confirmed in the region of €530-€580 million (FY 2010: €387 million). This range is related to development of demand on the reference markets in the second half of the year and includes the contribution of the Draka acquisition, consolidated from 1 March 2011.

ANTITRUST

The European Commission has sent the Company a notification of indictments in relation to the investigation started in January 2009 into the high voltage underground and submarine cables market. This document contains the Commission’s preliminary position on alleged anti-competitive practices and does not constitute advance notice of its final decision. Prysmian has therefore had access to the Commission’s dossier and, while fully co-operating, will present its defence against the related allegations. Also considering the recent developments in the European Commission investigation, Prysmian now believes that it is able to estimate the risk relating to the antitrust investigations underway in the various jurisdictions, except for Brazil. The amount provided at 30 June 2011 amounts to Euro 200 million, on top of the Euro 5 million provided in the past.
This amount has been determined on the basis of partly subjective considerations and solely represents an estimate since the outcome of the investigations underway in the various jurisdictions is still uncertain.

Prysmian’s Half-Year Financial Report at 30 June 2011, approved by the Board of Directors today, together with the independent auditors’ report, will be available to the public from 26 August 2011, at the Company’s registered offices in Viale Sarca 222, Milan and at Borsa Italiana S.p.A..It will also be available on the corporate website at
The present document may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events and operating, economic and financial results of the Prysmian Group. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they depend on the occurrence of future events and circumstances. Therefore, actual future results may differ materially from what is expressed in forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors.
The managers responsible for preparing corporate accounting documents (Massimo Branda and Jordi Calvo), hereby declare, pursuant to art. 154-bis par. 2 of Italy’s Unified Financial Act, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the underlying documents, accounting books and records.

Prysmian Group
Prysmian Group is world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry. With sales of some €7 billion (pro-forma 2010 Prysmian/Draka), 22,000 employees across 50 countries and 98 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in high-tech markets and provides the widest range of products, services, technologies and know-how. In the Energy sector, Prysmian Group operates in the business of underground and submarine power transmission cables and systems, special cables for applications in many different industrial sectors and medium and low voltage cables for the construction and infrastructure industry. In the Telecom sector, the Group manufactures cables and accessories for the voice, video and data transmission industry, offering a complete range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Source: Prysmian