The ONCE Business Corporation (CEOSA) 2007 Activity Report is published in June. It contains the actions carried out by the Corporation last year, representing both the continuation of a business project started more than fifteen years ago by the ONCE “and its projection towards a future that will, without any doubt, be exciting”, as José Mª Arroyo, the CEOSA president, writes in his introductory letter. In his opinion, “2007 was a key year for our businesses because it saw the culmination of an initial four-year plan, the General Economic Plan 2004-2007. The overall result of implementing this plan was positive in both economic and social terms”.
In general, CEOSA, has fulfilled its overall objectives, “even exceeding them in certain aspects”, Arroyo points out, all of its companies showing growth over the four-year period. In social terms, it is particularly worth mentioning that almost eight per cent of Corporation staff are people with a disability.

As its president also notes, in the coming years CEOSA will move towards diversifying into sectors of the future, without dropping its key values, solvency and social commitment: “we know”, he states, “that diversification is a long journey and that the Corporation’s resources are mainly required to maintain, and logically improve, its businesses... There are not large amounts of resources for diversifying, but there is the patience required to go on this long journey and, in a few years, CEOSA will have a significantly lower and more diluted dependency on its large companies”.

By way of conclusion, he also highlights another big future challenge “to further the policy of alliances. With the necessary prudence and humility, of course, but we will do it, without any doubt”.
(Full text of the 2007 Report available at: www.ceosa.org)

(in thousands of euros) 2004 2005 2006 2007
Turnover 464,211 491,846 583,330 635,128
Operating profit 27,438 32,733 26,738 65,105
Profit after tax 18,305 21,241 17,390 40,547
Shareholders’ equity 422,372 454,613 482,003 525,550
Borrowing %  (of total assets) 20.9% 18.4% 23.9% 21.7%
Staff at year-end 18,730 18,849 20,312 21,031
Disabled staff 1492 1564 1601 1624