CORPORATIVE CENTRE

PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL REPORT 2009

The ONCE Business Corporation (CEOSA) Annual Report for 2009 has just been published, detailing the Corporation’s economic results and activities over the past year. The net consolidated turnover for 2009 has fallen by 7 percent with respect to the previous year, standing at 470.6 millions euros, mainly due to the general economic crisis that has affected all sectors in which the CEOSA divisions operate. The sectors that have fallen most are alimentation (-25.56%) and travel (-23.55%).

In his Letter of Introduction, José María Arroyo, President of the Corporation, explains that - as for other years- honesty and transparency have been the inspiring principles in this Report, which aims "to show what we are and where we want to be in the future: a group of companies with an enterprising spirit that has known how to consolidate a responsible culture, guided constantly by our corporate values". From an economic point of view, he points out that, "2009 has not been an easy financial year as it has been immersed in an international crisis perhaps hitting the Spanish economy the hardest, which is where almost all of our businesses operate".

He also indicates that in spite of the negative consolidated results for 2009, the soundness of its Balance Sheet has increased, “as its debt has been significantly reduced, thanks, to some extent, to the sale of assets, and partly to the good management of the working capital by all of the CEOSA companies”.

Arroyo concludes his introduction by paraphrasing our prematurely deceased fellow journalist, affiliated to ONCE, Juan Antonio Cebrián, in his “Pasajes de la Historia”, stating that “the publication of the CEOSA Report has always aimed to keep the flame alive, so that nobody ever forgets what we were or what we are. Only in this way, will we continue walking soundly towards the future”.

According to the Annual Report 2009, the ONCE Business Corporation (CEOSA) employs 1,602 people with some type of disability (almost 8 percent of the total workforce, which amounted to 20,135 employees at 31st December 2009).

BOX
(Thousands of euros) 2006 2007 2008 2009
Net Turnover 583,330 635,128 506,032 470,557
Operating Result   26,738 65,105 6,700 -7,227
Consolidated Result for the Year 17,390 40,547 5,910 -9,848
Net Worth   482,003 525,550 516,302 503,183
% Debt (over Total Assets) 23.9% 21.7% 31.21% 30.45%
Workforce at the End of the Year 20,312 21,031 20,484 20,135
Disabled Workers 1,601 1,624 1,617 1,602

Main scales showing CEOSA’s evolution 2006/2009 included in the Report.
  Operating Result prior to Outliers for 2006 and 2007.
  Shareholders’ Equity for 2006 and 2007.
  Data including Vinsa Venezuela workforce