The General Shareholders’ Meeting of Buzzi Unicem SpA met in Casale Monferrato on April 28, 2009 to approve the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008.
 

The meeting resolved the distribution of a dividend of €0.360 to ordinary shares and of €0.384 to savings shares (in the previous year the dividend was €0.420 to ordinary shares and €0.444 to savings shares).
The dividend will be payable as from May 21, 2009, with detachment on May 18, 2009 of coupon no. 12 for both ordinary and savings shares.

Consolidated net sales came in at €3,520.2 million versus €3,496.1 million (+0.7%) and  Ebitda stood at €922.7 million (€1,046.3 million in 2007). Consolidated net profit decreased to €395.3 million from €458.5 million in 2007. As of December 31, 2008, net debt amounted to €1,059.7 million, up €438.5 million from €621.2 million at 2007 year-end. At the same date, total equity, inclusive of minorities, increased to €2,705.4 million from €2,513.4 at 2007 year-end. Consequently debt/equity ratio went from 0.25 to 0.39.

In 2008 the parent company Buzzi Unicem SpA reported a net profit of €156.2 million (€149.2 million in 2007) with cash flow at €194.0 million.

Moreover, the Shareholders’ Meeting  resolved to authorize the Board of Directors, for a length of 18 months, to buy-back a maximum of additional no. 4,000,000 ordinary and/or savings shares as well as to totally and/or partially exercise the pre-emption right pertaining to treasury shares in portfolio to the extent of the purchase of additional no. 2,000,000 ordinary and/or savings shares, besides those for the buy-back of which the authorisation is given, under the terms and conditions of the Board of Directors’ proposal, up to a maximum amount of €192 million.
The proposed purchase price, inclusive of ancillary charges, ranges from a minimum of €0.60, equal to par value, to a maximum of €23 for savings shares and from a minimum of €0.60, equal to par value, to a maximum of €32 for ordinary shares. The treasury shares shall be purchased on the market, according to Borsa Italiana rules.

The above authorization is required to allow the company to intervene in case of fluctuation of the shares price beyond the normal market volatility, within the extent allowed by the law and the market rules, as well as to give the company an instrument for liquidity investment. The authorization to the disposal of treasury shares is also required to allow the company to use savings treasury shares held by the company within incentive plans for assignment, also without consideration, to employees of the company and its subsidiaries.
Based on the resolution of the ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of May 13, 2008, no. 123,000 ordinary treasury shares and no. 150,000 savings treasury shares have been overall purchased and no. 93,320 savings treasury shares have been granted to the managers of the company and its subsidiaries under the MBO scheme adopted for the years 2004-2008, no. 48,295 thereof to be assigned effective as from June 22, 2009 as per resolution of the Board of Directors which met today before the Shareholders’ Meeting.

As of today the company owns no. 500,000 ordinary treasury shares and no. 305,475 savings treasury shares equal to 0.39% of capital stock.

Finally the Shareholders’ Meeting approved the three-year stock grant scheme for allocation of Buzzi Unicem’s savings shares to the managers of the company and its subsidiaries who would achieve the individual and corporate goals annually set for the years 2009-2011, as per information document already published on the occasion of the Board of Directors’ resolution to call the Shareholders’ Meeting.

The company informs that as from tomorrow the statutory financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008 complete  with the documents required by the law, will be made available on the company’s website (www.buzziunicem.it) as well as at the registered office and at Borsa Italiana S.p.A. The Minutes of the Shareholders’ Meeting approving the financial statements will be made available within 15 days.

The manager responsible for preparing the company’s financial reports, Silvio Picca, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154 bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, books and accounting records.

Company contacts:
Investor Relations Assistant
Mariangiola Fiore
Phone. +39 0142 416 404
Email: mfiore@buzziunicem.it