Prysmian, leading worldwide player in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, will play a major role at the 2010 Biannual Session of CIGRE (International Council on Large Electrical Systems, one of the key worldwide bodies operating in the sector of electric power systems) that will take place in Paris from August 23 to 27 (Palais de Congrès de Porte Maillot, stand 45, main hall), bringing together some 3000 delegates from all over the world, with more than 400 technical papers that cover all related technical, economic, environmental, organisational and regulatory aspects being discussed.

Prysmian, as undisputed technology leader boasts a long-standing tradition of presence of skilled experts in Study Committees (SC) and Working Groups (WG), and active participation in the Council through technical papers. For the 2010 edition Prysmian will be present with 5 technical papers in 3 SCs:, “Upgrading of existing 400 kV FF HV cable link by redesigning and implementing forced cooling apparatuses in Vienna”, “Transition Joints for connection of Fluid Filled to Extruded cables from 33 kV to 400 kV“ and “200 kV DC extruded cables crossing the San Francisco Bay“ are the 3 paper discussed in SC B1 – Insulated cables; “Trans Bay Cable – World's first HVDC system using Multilevel VSC Technology” is the paper discussed in SC B4 – HVDC and Power Electronics; and “Condition Assessment of Transmission Power Cables” is the paper discussed in SC D1 – Materials and Emerging Test Techniques). Prysmian experts will provide further insight on the 3 state-of-the-art technical papers presented in the B1 SC session in a dedicated “Poster Session”. Ultimate technologies and products for applications in the Power Transmission industry, both onshore and off-shore will be on display at the Prysmian booth in the Technical Exhibition Hall.

CIGRE 2010 comes at a time of important developments for Prysmian’s leadership in the industry of land and submarine power transmission cable systems, following very closely the recent awards of major contracts that set a number of milestones in the industry: BorWin2, in Germany will be the first commercial ± 300 kV DC cable project using extruded technology (highest direct current voltage level ever reached) and the first 800 MW connection to offshore wind parks and the largest VSC system with a capacity of 800 MW; Transco, in Abu Dhabi will be the largest 400 kV underground cable system in the region and the largest EHV XLPE cable system in the world (in terms of contract value) ever awarded to a single supplier.

These achievements again demonstrate Prysmian’s leading position and the validity of the Group’s know-how and technologies in the development of state-of-the art cables for power transmission and the commitment to support smarter and greener power grids worldwide. Among other projects in which Prysmian has recently been involved in the field of power transmission both on-shore and offshore are some of the largest, most strategic and technologically advanced developments such as Trans Bay Cable (USA), SA.PE.I. (Italy), Romulo (Spain), GCCIA (Saudi – Bahrain), Doha Bay Crossing (Qatar), Walney, Ormonde, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet and Greater Gabbard and Alpha Ventus offshore wind farms in the UK and in Germany.

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
luca.caserta@prysmian.com  

Results at 30 June 2010 
• Sales: Euro 2,148 million Vs Euro 1,848 million in 1st half 2009 (organic change -3.4%)
• Adj Ebitda : euro 181 million vs euro 193 million in 1st half 2009 (-6.5%)
• Adj operating income : euro 143 million vs euro 161 million in 1st half 2009 (-11.0%)
• Adj net profit : euro 77 million vs euro 94 million in 1st half 2009 (-18.1%)
• Net Financial position at euro 675 million from euro 660 million at 30 june 2009

FY 2010 Adj Ebitda target confirmed in the range of Euro 350 – 400 million

The Board of Directors of Prysmian S.p.A. has approved today the Company's consolidated results for the first half of 2010 .

MARKET SCENARIO
After a still uncertain start of the year, the second quarter reported the first signs of recovery in demand across all the Group's businesses, also driven by higher seasonal sales. To be remarked that, after several negative quarters, organic growth has come back to a positive sign (+4.3%) and profitability has improved, with second-quarter adjusted EBITDA up to Euro 106 million from Euro 75 million in the first quarter and also higher than Euro 103 million reported in the second quarter of 2009.

"Prysmian has been quick to take up the opportunities arising from the first signs of market recovery – comments CEO Valerio Battista - with a major improvement in Group’s second-quarter results. Volumes have started to grow again even in the businesses most affected by the crisis, like those involved with the construction industry. Prysmian has confirmed its technological and market leadership in higher value-added businesses, securing contracts for some of the major power transmission and offshore wind farm projects. Not only we shall be producing the world's first 300 kV HVDC cables, but we have also secured a contract in Abu Dhabi for one of the longest EHV links planned in the Middle East. Prysmian is also following with attention the development of strategic renewable energy projects in Europe: we have formed together with some other major companies ’F riends of the Supergrid’ to promote the creation of a supergrid in Northern Europe and we have joined the ‘Transgreen’ project to carry solar energy generated in the Sahara to Europe. Also thanks to new contracts secured, our order book for high voltage and submarine projects climbed to some Euro 1,400 million as of July. Based on this scenario we can confirm our year-end profit targets", concludes Battista.

FINANCIAL RESULTS
Sales amounted to Euro 2,148 million compared with Euro 1,848 million in the first half of 2009. Net of metal price and exchange rate effects and variation in the group perimeter, the organic change in sales was a negative 3.4%, although with performance differing markedly between the two quarters: the +4.3% in the second quarter helped mitigate the effect of the –11.2% in the first three months.

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to Euro 181 million, with a significant improvement in the second quarter which confined the decline on the Euro 193 million of the first half 2009 (the margin on sales was 8.4% down from 10.5% in the corresponding period of 2009). The Group continues to focus on high value-added businesses, which accounted for over 60% of total adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA amounted to Euro 175 million, down 2.9% from Euro 180 million in the first half of 2009, with a margin on sales of 8.2% versus 9.8% in the corresponding period of 2009.

Adjusted operating income was Euro 143 million, down 11.0% from Euro 161 million in the first half of 2009 and representing a margin on sales of 6.7%, down from 8.7%. Operating income, including the non recurring items and the negative impact of Euro 17 million from fair value changes in metal derivatives compared with a positive impact of Euro 75 million in the first half of 2009, was Euro 115 million (Euro 223 million in 2009; -48.3%).

Net finance income and costs reported a negative balance of Euro 52 million, compared with a negative Euro 18 million in the first half of 2009. The change is primarily due to the impact of the Euro's strong depreciation on the fair value of currency derivatives, as well as the impact of issuing the unrated Eurobond and the entering into a new Forward Start Credit Agreement. These two financial transactions significantly strengthen the Group's financial structure and allowed to extend the debt's average maturity at a highly competitive cost.

Adjusted net profit came to Euro 77 million compared with Euro 94 million in the first half of 2009 (-18.1%), reporting a margin on sales of 3.7% (5.1% in the corresponding period of 2009). Net profit amounted to Euro 44 million. The decrease from Euro 150 million in the first half of 2009 is mainly attributable to fair value changes in metal derivatives, which were a positive Euro 75 million in the first half of 2009 compared with a negative Euro 17 million in the first half of 2010.

Free cash flow (levered) was a negative Euro 82 million (negative Euro 16 million in the first half of 2009). This cash flow was affected by the negative impact of higher metal prices on working capital (around Euro 81 million), by the cash outlay for the Ravin Cables acquisition (Euro 20 million), by bank fees and other expenses (Euro 16 million) relating to the Forward Start Agreement and by the Eurobond issue. Free cash flow (levered) generated over the last twelve months (July 2009 - June 2010) amounted to Euro 117 million.

At the end of June 2010, Net financial position was Euro 675 million compared with Euro 660 million at the end of June 2009 (Euro 474 million at the end of 2009). The net financial position at 30 June 2010 also includes some Euro 43 million for the impact of the two recent acquisitions in Russia and India.

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

• Development of high-tech businesses
In the first half of 2010 the Group invested Euro 31 million in high-tech businesses (Euro 51 million in the first half of 2009), mainly to complete the flexible pipes plant in Brazil and to increase production capacity for high voltage cables in China and the USA and for optical cables in Romania.

• Expansion in high growth countries
The Group has continued to integrate its new acquisitions in Russia (RybinskElektrokabel) and India (Ravin Cables). New organisational structures have been defined for these companies, and initial investments are being examined to increase penetration in high-tech businesses.

• Focus on fixed costs and industrial efficiencies
Despite the impact of intervening acquisitions, in the first half of 2010 the Group kept fixed costs largely stable relative to the corresponding period of 2009, having already made significant reductions in 2009 (Euro 206 million versus Euro 200 million, including the impact of the recent acquisitions). The Group also kept a strong focus on industrial efficiencies: efficiencies in materials, optimisation of logistics and production costs, and development of more effective production processes.

ENERGY CABLES AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS
• NEW SUBMARINE PROJECTS FOR OFFSHORE WIND FARMS
• HIGH VOLTAGE: GROWING ORDER BOOK LED BY CHINA AND MIDDLE EAST
• POWER DISTRIBUTION RECOVERING: + 8% IN Q2 2010 VOLUMES ON Q2 2009
• BACK TO A POSITIVE ORGANIC GROWTH IN T&I: + 10.3% IN Q2 2010 VS - 8.6% IN Q1 2010
• INDUSTRIAL: INCREASING ORDER BOOK IN OIL & GAS CABLES; GROWTH IN RENEWABLES

Sales to third parties by the Energy Cables and Systems segment amounted to Euro 1,925 million, compared with Euro 1,641 million in the first half of 2009. Net of metal price and exchange rate effects and changes in the group perimeter, the organic change in sales was a negative 3.6% in the first half, although reporting a clear trend reversal in the second quarter (+ 4.7%) recovering from the - 11.7% of the first three months. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to Euro 164 million (Euro 177 million in the first half of 2009), with a margin on sales down to 8.5% from 10.7% in the corresponding period of 2009. Adjusted operating income came to Euro 130 million (Euro 148 million in the first half of 2009), with the margin on sales down to 6.7% from 9.0% in the corresponding period of 2009.

Utilities
Sales to third parties by the Utilities business amounted to Euro 829 million, reporting an organic decrease of 5.9%. After a stable start to the year at the lows reached in the second half of 2009, demand started to recover in the second quarter, with improvements in both the power distribution and power transmission markets. In terms of profitability, margins were slightly lower, with adjusted EBITDA on sales at 14.4%, down from 15.8%, and adjusted operating income on sales at 12.4% down from 13.9%.

Sales by the submarine cable business enjoyed an organic increase on the corresponding period in 2009, confirming the recovery in investments by the utilities, particularly in offshore wind farms. In recent weeks Prysmian has been awarded two of the most important projects currently under development: HelWin1 and BorWin2, the world's first 300 kV HVDC link, confirming its market and technological leadership in this sector.

Demand for high voltage underground cables showed steady signs of recovery during the first six months of the year. In fact, in the second quarter larger utilities have resumed their investment programmes in Europe, China and the Middle East. The Group recently won the Transco project in Abu Dhabi, the largest contract for underground high voltage systems ever awarded to a single supplier in the Middle East.

Starting from the second quarter, the power distribution business confirmed the first signs of volume recovery, particularly in Europe. Second-quarter volumes were stable even in markets that had suffered most, such as North America, Brazil and South-East Asia. The high price of raw materials continued to put margins under pressure.

Trade & Installers
Sales to third parties by the Trade & Installers business amounted to Euro 699 million (Euro 489 million in the first half of 2009), posting an organic growth of 1.0% on the first half of 2009. The increase in volumes picked up significantly in the second quarter with + 10.3% organic growth compared with – 8.6% in the first quarter, particularly thanks to the resumption of demand in Europe, Brazil and Australia, and to the product mix with, for example, a growth in sales of cables for solar systems. An important contract was also signed to supply cables for the new underground railway in Istanbul. The growth in volumes reflected positively on second-quarter profits, with adjusted EBITDA climbing to Euro 15 million from Euro 5 million in the first three months of the year. Despite resumed growth in volumes, fluctuations in exchange rates and metal prices have kept price competition alight. Volumes are expected to carry on growing in the next quarters with a general stabilisation in prices. Adjusted operating margin on sales went down to 1.8% from 3.1% in the first half of 2009.

Industrial
Sales to third parties by the Industrial cables business amounted to Euro 344 million (Euro 314 million in the first half of 2009), reporting an organic decrease of 8.9%. Industrial cables also showed signs of a trend reversal in the second quarter with an organic growth of + 1.0% compared with - 17.3% in the first quarter. A number of important contracts were secured during the period in the Oil & Gas sector in Libya and Asia Pacific, while business in the renewable energy sector continued its positive trend. There was also strong growth in the order book for umbilical cables for the Oil & Gas sector during the first half of the year, which has improved sales visibility for the second half of the year. Volumes in the automotive industry carried on recovering. Adjusted operating margin on sales was 5.0%, down from 6.1% in the first half of 2009.

TELECOM CABLES AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS
• STABLE DEMAND FOR OPTICAL CABLES
• INCREASING VOLUMES AND MARKET SHARE IN OPTICAL CABLES
• STABLE MARGINS

Sales to third parties by the Telecom Cables and Systems segment amounted to Euro 223 million (Euro 207 million in first half 2009), posting an organic decrease of 1.2% on the corresponding period of 2009, reflecting a negative first-quarter trend (-6.5%) that was partially reabsorbed by a second-quarter recovery (+3.4%). Although demand for optical cables was stable at its level of 2009, Prysmian boosted its market share during the first half of 2010 in every geographical area thanks to a 5% volume growth on the first half of 2009. The start of optical cable production at the new plant in Romania will allow the Group to increase its presence in markets in the Northern and Eastern European markets, where demand from alternative operators is most lively. Adjusted EBITDA rose slightly at Euro 17 million from Euro 16 million in the first half of 2009. Adjusted operating income was basically stable at Euro 13 million. In terms of margins, adjusted EBITDA was 7.4% from 7.6% of sales, while adjusted operating income was 5.8% from 6.1% of sales.

The Group's sales in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) reported an organic decrease of 1.3%. The second-quarter recovery in volumes for Trade & Installers and Power Distribution resulted in organic sales growth of 4.2% for the quarter. EMEA accounted for 70.0% of total sales in the period.
Sales in North America posted an organic decrease of 4.6% with a slight second-quarter recovery thanks to the high voltage projects started. North America accounted for 9.0% of total sales in the period.
Latin America posted an organic decrease in sales of 6.1%. There were signs of a second-quarter recovery in sales in the Industrial business area, particularly for the Oil & Gas industry, and in the Trade & Installers business area, which resulted in 9.7% organic growth for the quarter. The region accounted for 10.0% of total sales in the period.
Asia Pacific reported an organic decrease in sales of 14.0%, almost entirely attributable to lower volumes for the Power Distribution and Industrial businesses on the Australian market. Demand showed signs of stabilising in the second quarter. Asia Pacific accounted for 11.0% of total sales in the period.


BUSINESS OUTLOOK
After a first quarter that confirmed a stabilisation in demand and industrial output at the low levels already reached in the last part of 2009, the second quarter started to show the first signs of a moderate recovery in demand for all the Group's businesses. Although no major improvement in the economic environment is forecast, the Group expects to see in the second half of the year a continued recovery in volumes for the Trade & Installers and Power Distribution businesses, and a confirmation of the positive trend in orders for power transmission projects, for certain industrial applications such as renewable energy and offshore oil drilling, as well as for optical fibre cables supplied to major Telecom incumbents.
Based on the results achieved in the first six months, combined with the size of the current order book, the target for FY 2010 adjusted EBITDA can therefore be confirmed in the range of Euro 350-400 million announced at the end of the first quarter; this range is related to development of the reference markets demand in the second half of the year (FY 2009: Euro 403 million).
The Group also continues to rationalise and improve efficiency in its industrial footprint and to optimise its cost structure, while confirming its investment plans already started in the high value-added businesses to further strengthen its presence in the most profitable, high-growth segments.

KEY EVENTS OF THE FIRST HALF 2010
On March 30, 2010, with demand in excess of Euro 3,000 million, Prysmian SpA completed the placement of a five-year bond issue, listed on the Luxembourg Exchange, for a total amount of Euro 400 million, sold exclusively to qualified investors. The bonds, which were offered at a 99.674 issue price with a minimum denomination of 50,000 euros, mature on April 9, 2015 and carry a gross annual coupon of 5.25%. The Bonds are guaranteed by certain subsidiaries of Prysmian SpA.

Prysmian's Half-Year Financial Report at 30 June 2010, approved by the Board of Directors today, will be available to the public, together with the report by the independent auditors, from 6 August 2010 from the Company's registered offices in Viale Sarca 222, Milan and from Borsa Italiana S.p.A.. It will also be available on the corporate website at www.prysmian.com.

This 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 par. 2 art. 154-bis 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
A leading player in the industry of high-tech cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global business with more than Euro 3.7 billion in sales in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees.
Specialising in the development of products and systems even designed to customer specification, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
luca.caserta@prysmian.com  

Prysmian, a worldwide leading Group in the sector of cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, has published its first environmental report. It conveys the Group’s commitment to a clear accountability towards its stakeholders also with regards the environmental results of its activities.

The report, that analyses the latest three years data, highlights significant results in the improvement of the environmental impact of the industrial activities, mainly in relation to decreasing consumption of energy, water and solvents, and garbage disposal. In particular, in 2009 the overall electricity consumption of the Group’s energy cables factories declined compared to 2007, from approximately 3.3 million Gigajoule per tonne of product to approximately 2.9 million. In the same period the solvent consumption in the telecom cables activities decreased from 1.07 kilogram per tonne of product to 1.02. Also the water consumption dropped: in the energy cables it shifted from 8.4 cubic meter per tonne of product to 7.2.

The commitment to match growth in financial results with a reduction in the environmental impact of its activities has always been part of Prysmian’s mission, even when it was in the Pirelli Group. Business sustainability is an increasingly critical issue for every company and the Group intends to give an account of its work and results in this area, particularly to its customers and business partners, to the financial markets, the shareholders and the institutions.

The Group’s commitment to environmental sustainability is realized both in the production processes and in the product innovation processes, supported by the continuous investments and the activities of the 7 worldwide R&D centres, that employ 400 experts. As member of Europacable association, Prysmian is one of the promoter of the “Cable Manufacturers Environmental Code of Practice”.

With regard to product innovation, in the last few years Prysmian has achieved significant successes. For example lead has been replacing by more eco-friendly aluminium in the shielding of many cables and, in submarine cables, the use of cross-linked polyethylene extruded insulation (XLPE) has been extended in place of traditional oil-impregnated paper insulation.
Environmental product innovation also aims to adopt solutions that satisfy customer needs. For example the innovative P-Laser cable, which in addition to be produced entirely with eco-friendly materials is easier to install and offers flexible, efficient and reliable performance. These specific characteristics allowed P-Laser to receive the recently product approval from the Italian utilities ENEL and Acea, which after an experimental phase have included it in their related internal specifications.

The whole document is available here

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems(submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
luca.caserta@prysmian.com

Prysmian, a leading worldwide player in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, has been awarded a project worth in excess of € 150 million by the German transmission system operator transpower - a subsidiary of the Dutch grid operator TenneT - for the grid connection project HelWin1 linking two offshore wind farms in the North Sea to mainland Germany.

Prysmian will provide complete supply, installation and commissioning of the submarine and land cable connections as part of a larger contract worth approximately a half billion, awarded to the consortium of Prysmian and Siemens Energy. Siemens will deliver the Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) system, with a rating of 576 MW. The turnkey connection will first link the Offshore Wind Park Nord See Ost, located about 85 km offshore, to the mainland with the purpose of transmitting wind generated renewable power into the German Grid.

The project closely follows the recently awarded BorWin2 project, worth more than € 200 million, which sets a number of milestones in the industry as it will be the first commercial ± 300 kV DC cable project using extruded technology (highest direct current voltage level ever reached), the first 800 MW connection to offshore wind parks and the largest VSC system with a capacity of 800 MW. The HelWin1 project will also use extruded HVDC cable technology from Prysmian together with Siemens HVDC Plus® converter technology at the offshore platform and onshore stations. The HVDC connection of approximately 130 km to be supplied by Prysmian will comprise subsea and land cable types at a voltage of ± 250 kV DC along a 85 km sea route passing to the east of Helgoland continuing along a 45 km land route to the land converter station in Büttel, north-west of Hamburg. Extruded 155 kV HVAC submarine cable connections will complete the connections from the offshore wind park transformer platforms to the offshore converter platform.

The cables and accessories will be manufactured from 2011 onwards in Prysmian’s European HV factories including the dedicated submarine cable facility in Arco Felice, Italy. Installation activities will commence in 2011 and continue throughout 2012. The commencement of operation of the HVDC link is planned for 2013.

Prysmian has developed a wide range of state-of-the-art products and technologies for applications in the renewable energies sector, from wind turbines and solar plants to large high voltage interconnection systems of new power generation sites. This latest contract again demonstrates Prysmian’s leading position in the development of HVDC cables for power transmission in terms of both technical expertise and the commitment to support smarter and greener power grids throughout the world. Among other projects in which Prysmian has recently been involved in the field of both HVDC power transmission and offshore wind parks are some of the largest developments worldwide such as Walney, Ormonde, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet and Greater Gabbard in the UK as well as Alpha Ventus and BorWin2 in Germany.

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director 
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
luca.caserta@prysmian.com  

Prysmian, a worldwide leading player in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, has been awarded a new major contract worth around € 250 million (around 1.15 BN Dirham) for the execution of a 400 kV power Extra High Voltage transmission turnkey project by Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (TRANSCO). Prysmian will provide engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning of the 400 kV cable system (triple circuit route of 25 km for a total of 230 km of extruded insulation (XLPE) cable and related network components). The total project execution time is 24 months.

This new award underlines the Group’s leading position in the supply of EHV cable systems. It is worth to remark that - coming after a project well in excess of € 200 million for offshore wind farm cables secured by the Group in the last weeks - it confirms first signals of sound market recovery in the II quarter and allows further visibility for transmission sales development after 2010. The Transco project proves - once more - the validity of know-how and technologies developed by Prysmian in the sector and the commitment to support the development of smarter and greener power grids worldwide.

The new link is of high importance for the Abu Dhabi Emirate’s power transmission system. It will connect the Bahia and Saadiyat Grid Stations, via some of the most prestigious infrastructure and real estate development areas like Yas Island – location of the new F1 Race track and huge luxury Real Estate development - and Saadiyat where it is under construction the new Abu Dhabi Cultural District that will host also the Louvre and Guggenheim museums. The underground cable system will replace the existing overhead lines resulting in a significantly lower environmental impact. The project can be classified as the largest 400 kV underground cable system in the region and the largest EHV XLPE cable system in the world (in terms of contract value) ever awarded to a single supplier. “It is huge, complex and innovative as it will require also the adoption of micro tunnelling technology, a new application for power transmission projects in the region. Engineering skills, customer focus and market knowledge, are confirmed to be Prysmian’s strengths also in the ME.” declares Giovanni Caradonna, ME General Manager.

The project further confirms the key role played by Prysmian in the Abu Dhabi present huge infrastructure investment process and in the whole Middle East, where the Group counts several major projects completed and ongoing. These include Emirates Steel (ESI) and Emirates Aluminium Company Ltd. (EMAL) in Abu Dhabi (HV cable systems for the world’s largest aluminium smelter facility); the development of the first-ever Submarine Power Transmission link serving Doha and the new 400 kV high voltage underground grid connection on behalf of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation; the recently commissioned GCCIA Saudi Bahrain submarine interconnection, several projects in the O&G industry like the recently acquired Livorno FPSO (Dubai Dry Docks) and important Fire Resistant cabling projects such as the newly inaugurated Burj Khalifa and the Abu Dhabi Financial Centre.

Currently Prysmian has offices and facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah (UAE) - including the modern Power Plus Cable Co. LLC plant owned in Joint Venture with the Government of Fujairah and equipped to produce high voltage cables up to 220 kV -, Doha (Qatar), Manama (Bahrain) and Kuwait.

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
luca.caserta@prysmian.com

Prysmian, worldwide leading player in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, has signed today in Paris an industrial partnership agreement with other 11 European leading groups in the power generation and transmission technologies and industries. The initiative, patronised by the French Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning, Jean-Luis Borloo and of the French Republic President’s Special Advisor, Henri Guaino, aims at studying the feasibility and the realisation of the trans-Mediterranean super-grid “Transgreen” that shall carry renewable energy from Northern Africa to Europe.

Together with Prysmian, the project involves Abengoa, Alstom, Areva, Atos, Origin, CDC Infrastructure, EDF, Nexans, RED Eléctrica de España, RTE, Siemens e Veolia. The 12 partners will be under the central coordination of a corporate body aimed at studying the technical, industrial, economic, financial, regulatory and institutional aspects of a transmission system for power coming mainly from renewable sources in the Mediterranean.

Established for an initial period of three years, “Transgreen” is part of the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) and is open to other companies, coming mainly from Southern countries, in order to promote the cooperation in the design and engineering of the electrical systems that will help speed up the transition towards the use of power generated by low carbon sources. “Transgreen” will work in close contact with the authorities of the involved countries, the European Commission, the scientific community, the development banks and the non governmental organisations. The activities will be carried out in close coordination with the other MSP projects including “Desertec”, which aims at providing up to 15% of Europe’s electricity consumption by drawing on sun and wind power generation sources installed in Northern Africa and the Middle East by 2050. The MSP envisages the realization of renewable power generation infrastructures - mainly solar - in the southern and eastern areas of the Mediterranean, for a total of 20 GW by 2020; of these, approximately 5 GW will be exported into Europe, thus creating the need for trans-Mediterranean electrical system for the transmission of power to the consumption centres and of new interconnection infrastructures, based mostly on high and extra high voltage submarine cable systems operated in direct current.

For Prysmian this is an opportunity for further developments in the renewable energies business sector. The Group is a worldwide leading player in the underground and submarine cable systems for power transmission. In particular, it is involved in the design and realization of some of the largest offshore wind farms in Northern Europe, such as Alpha Ventus in Germany, Greater Gabbard and Thanet in UK. In addition to the market leadership, the Group boasts excellence know-how: recently Prysmian has been awarded a contract for the offshore wind farm BorWin2 in Germany, the first 300 kV HVDC (high voltage direct current) interconnection.

To witness the strong commitment of the Group in the sector of power grids and renewable energies, Prysmian is one of the founding members of the “Friends of the Supergrid” (FOSG), an association born to promote the development of a pan-European offshore super-grid for the exploitation of “clean” energy.

Related informations
French ministry website

Related Documents:
The Project

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
luca.caserta@prysmian.com   

Prysmian, a worldwide leading player in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, has been awarded a major project worth well in excess of € 200 million by the German transmission system operator transpower - a subsidiary of the Dutch grid operator TenneT - for the grid connection project BorWin2 linking two offshore wind farms in the North Sea to mainland Germany.

Prysmian will provide complete supply, installation and commissioning of the submarine and land cable connections as part of a larger contract worth more than half a billion Euro, awarded to the consortium between Prysmian and Siemens Energy. Siemens will deliver the Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) system, with an accordant capacity of 800 MW. The turnkey connection will link the Offshore Wind Parks Veja Mate and Global Tech 1, located 125 km offshore, to the mainland with the purpose of transmitting wind generated renewable power into the German Grid.

The project sets a number of milestones in the industry as it will be the first commercial ± 300 kV DC cable project using extruded technology (highest direct current voltage level ever reached), the first 800 MW connection to offshore wind parks and the largest VSC system with a capacity of 800 MW. The project shall use extruded HVDC cable technology from Prysmian together with Siemens HVDC Plus® converter technology at the offshore platform and onshore stations. The HVDC connection supplied by Prysmian shall comprise of ± 300 kV DC subsea and land cable types along around 125 km submarine plus around 75 km land route (around 200 km in total) to the land converter station in Diele, near Papenburg. Extruded 155 kV HVAC submarine cable connections for a total length of around 39 km shall complete the connections from the offshore wind park transformer platforms to the offshore converter platform.

The submarine cables will be manufactured in the Prysmian factory in Arco Felice, Italy with the land cables being manufactured in the Prysmian factory in Delft, the Netherlands. Installation will be performed with Prysmian’s own cable laying vessel, the Giulio Verne (with the largest operation capacity in the world), as well as utilizing other specialized vessels for various operations, such as those in shallow waters. The HVDC connection is planned to commence operation in 2013.

Over the decades Prysmian has developed a wide range of state-of-the-art products and technologies for both HVDC power transmission and the wind power transmission and distribution sector. This new contract further underlines the Group’s leading position in the supply of submarine cables. It also proves - once more - the validity of the know-how and the technologies developed by Prysmian in the sector and the commitment to support the development of smarter and greener power grids throughout the world. The Group’s leading position in this high added value market segments is also confirmed by other major projects in which Prysmian has been recently involved in the field of both HVDC power transmission (TransBay Cable in San Francisco) and offshore wind parks (Walney, Ormonde, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet and Greater Gabbard in the UK and Alpha Ventus in Germany).

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.
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Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
Ph. 0039 02 64491
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
Ph. 0039 02 6449.1
luca.caserta@prysmian.com  

Prysmian Cables & Systems - leading worldwide player in the energy and telecommunications cable market - will present its latest enhanced range of passive broadband cable solutions later this month at CommunicAsia 2010 - the leading ICT event in SE Asia - which takes place in Singapore from 15-18 June.

SE Asia continues to be a market of high strategic importance for Prysmian, and this is confirmed by Prysmian’s participation in this major event and its strong presence and investments in the Region. With a Fibre Optic Cable production facility in Cikampek, Indonesia and commercial offices throughout the region, the ASEAN territories are some of the most active for the company's telecoms business. Major supply contracts this year have been conducted not only in Indonesia but also in Philippines - with local operator Smart Telecom - whilst in Singapore Prysmian has supplied Singtel with high fibre count cable to support the national broadband programme.

In Vietnam supplies of overhead fibre optic cable continue for a fourth year as part of the nation's drive to build a fibre rich infrastructure and in The Kingdom of Brunei, Prysmian has recently supplied the first FTTx project where initially 2000 homes will be connected.

With an ever growing consumer demand for greater bandwidth, Prysmian continues to be highly committed to bringing innovative Broadband solutions to homes throughout Asia. Its latest range of Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) technologies will be presented at CommunicAsia 2010, with all products on display ideally suited to meet the region’s infrastructure growth needs.

Prysmian's global director of Telecoms, Mr Hakan Ozmen - who will be present in Singapore for the CommunicAsia event - commented ,"The Asia Pacific market continues to lead the way in many aspects of the telecoms business and particularly in terms of FTTH deployment. As a local company producing in the region, Prysmian is ideally placed to support the development plans of the telecom operators and network providers in the region as they build the infrastructures needed to support the growing Broadband economy."

Also present at CommunicAsia will be Prysmian's newly appointed CEO for the ASEAN territories, Mr Manfred Klingel, who took up his appointment on 1st May this year.
Visit Prysmian on Stand no 5E2-01 in Hall 5. All event details at www.communicasia.com.

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-tech cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global business with more than Euro 3.7 million in sales in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and non-residential buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Also specialising in the development of products and systems designed to meet specific client requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
Ph. 0039 02 64491
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
Ph. 0039 02 6449.1
luca.caserta@prysmian.com  

The Prysmian Group announces new investments in China on the occasion of the Italian Business Mission to China, organised by the Italian Government, Confindustria, ICE and ABI. The project, worth about Euro 20 million (in addition to Euro 10 million already invested in 2009), will double production capacity and introduce new technology at the Baoying plant for High Voltage and Extra High Voltage cables and systems. This project brings the total resources invested by Prysmian in China to some Euro 120 million, since the Group’s entry in the country.

The aim is to further strengthen the Group's technological leadership, and market share, in China, particularly in the area of systems of up to 500 kV capable of carrying electricity to entire cities (Prysmian has been selected by China State Grid for the new 500 kV EHV cable system in the Anhui province). The plant will be equipped with a second tower for Vertical Continuous Vulcanization, a technology that is one of the most advanced in the industry. Prysmian has also signed a technology co-operation agreement with the Wuhan Institute of Technology (a Chinese government body) to carry out research and develop new technology in the sector of EHV cables and systems.

Present in China since 1996, the Prysmian Group is one of the top Italian companies operating in the country with sales increased to Euro 160 million in 2009 (domestic sales reported a + 28% growth). Headquartered in Beijing, Prysmian employs around 1,000 staff in 5 plants that manufacture HV power transmission cables and systems, special cables for industrial applications, optical fibre and copper cables for the telecommunications sector. Prysmian is particularly focusing on strong growth in the businesses of HV cables and systems, special cables for industrial applications, especially in the area of renewable energy, and optical fibre for telecommunications.

China represents upwards of 20% of the worldwide cables market. The Chinese government has announced the construction of approximately 26,000 km of new power lines, with the Group ready to take up these development opportunities, thanks to its local investments not only in technology and products but also in developing production capacity and human resources.

Prysmian's more strategic customers include the principal national grid managers such as China State Grid, Beijing PSB, Shanghai PSB and Jiangsu PSB, leading wind farm development companies such as Guo Dian United Power, Gamesa, Suzlon and SE Wind, transport sector companies like CRC (Chang Chun Railway Company), Beijing Metro and Alstom, and some of the largest local telecommunications companies such as China Mobile and China Unicom.

Prysmian
A leading player in the industry of high-tech cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global business with more than Euro 3.7 million in sales in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and non-residential buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees. Also specialising in the development of products and systems designed to meet specific client requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
Ph. 0039 02 64491
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
Ph. 0039 02 6449.1
luca.caserta@prysmian.com  

• Sales: euro 969 million (organic change -11.2%) 
• Adj EBITDA: euro 75 million (euro 90 million in Q1 2009; -17.0%) 
• Adj operating income: euro 57 million (euro 74 million in Q1 2009; -23.8%) 
• Adj net profit: Euro 31 million (Euro 45 million in Q1 2009; -31.1%) 
• NFP improved to euro 596 million from euro 641 million at 31 March 2009

FY 2010 Adj EBITDA expected in the range of euro 350-400 million euro

Milan, 13/5/2010. The Board of Directors of Prysmian S.p.A. has approved today the Company's consolidated results for the first quarter of 2010 (which are not subject to audit).

MARKET SCENARIO
The market scenario in the first quarter of the year still presented signs of uncertainty. The level of activity in Prysmian's sectors of operation has remained generally stable since the last quarter of 2009, although there are signs of a recovery in demand, the strength of which varies by sector. Based on the existing order book, volumes and profit margins are expected to gradually recover starting from the next quarter, both for higher value-added businesses (Submarine and Industrial) and the more cyclical ones (Power Distribution and Trade & Installers). In the underground High Voltage sector, sales and margins are expected to be generally stable, with the portfolio showing signs of improvement.

FINANCIAL RESULTS
Sales amounted to Euro 969 million compared with Euro 926 million in the corresponding period of 2009. Net of metal price and exchange rate effects and variation in the group perimeter, the organic change in sales was a negative 11.2%.

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to Euro 75 million (-17.0% on first quarter 2009), with the margin on sales down to 7.7% from 9.8% in the corresponding period of 2009. This reduction was largely due to pressure on margin in the T&I business area, arising from a combination of still weak demand and the high price of raw materials, and from a weak start of the year in the Industrial cables business area, particularly for OG&P and umbilical cables. The Group continues to focus on high value-added businesses, which account for more than 60% of total Adjusted EBITDA.

EBITDA amounted to Euro 72 million, down 17.9% from Euro 88 million in the first quarter of 2009, with a margin on sales of 7.5% versus 9.5% in the corresponding period of 2009.

Adjusted operating income was Euro 57 million, down 23.8% from Euro 74 million in the first quarter of 2009 and representing a margin on sales of 5.8%, down from 7.9%. Operating income - including the negative impact of Euro 4 million from fair value changes in metal derivatives compared with a positive impact of Euro 56 million in the first quarter of 2009 - was Euro 50 million compared with Euro 128 million in 2009 (-60.8%).

Net finance income and costs reported a negative balance of Euro 16 million, compared with a negative Euro 2 million in the first quarter of 2009. The change is primarily attributable to the positive impact of derivatives and exchange rate differences in the prior year.

Adjusted net profit came to Euro 31 million compared with Euro 45 million in the first quarter of 2009 (- 31.1%), reporting a 3.2% margin on sales (4.9% in the corresponding period of 2009). Net profit amounted to Euro 23 million compared with Euro 91 million in the first quarter of 2009, reporting a 2.4% margin on sales (9.8% in the corresponding period of 2009). The decrease is mainly attributable to fair value changes in metal derivatives.

Free cash flow (levered) was a negative Euro 89 million (negative Euro 53 million in first quarter 2009). This cash flow was particularly affected by the negative impact of higher metal prices on working capital (around Euro 42 million), by the cash out for the Ravin acquisition (Euro 20 million) and by bank fees and other expenses (Euro 12 million) relating to the Forward Start Agreement. Free cash flow (levered) generated over the last twelve months (April 2009 - March 2010) amounted to Euro 147 million.

At the end of March 2010, Net financial position improved to Euro 596 million from Euro 641 million at the end of March 2009 (Euro 474 million at the end of 2009). The net financial position at 31 March 2010 includes Euro 38 million impact related to the two recent acquisitions in Russia and India. The Group has significantly strengthened its financial structure thanks to the new Forward Start Agreement entered on 21 January 2010 with a syndicate of leading national and international banks; under this agreement the financing banks have made available Euro 1,070 million to refinance until end of 2014 the current Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility at their natural maturity on 3 May 2012.

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
The Group has carried on its strategy of focusing on higher-tech businesses and markets with higher growth potential. In addition, to defend profitability margins, actions have been stepped up to improve industrial efficiencies, to optimise raw materials procurement and to further develop customer service. 

• Investments in high-tech businesses
In the first quarter of 2010 the Group continued with its investment plans to develop high-tech businesses, mainly to complete the new plant in Brazil for the production of flexible pipes for the off-shore oil exploitation activities. A total of Euro 11 million was invested in the quarter (Euro 21 million in the corresponding period of 2009). 

• Expansion in high growth countries
Prysmian has started to integrate RybinskElektrokabel in Russia (acquired at the end of 2009), and completed in January 2010 the acquisition of Ravin Cables with operations in India and the Middle East, with both companies now included in the Group's consolidation perimeter. New organisational structures have been defined for these companies, as well as new commercial strategies, which will focus on expanding the value-added product range. The goal is to more than double the current turnover in these countries in the next three years. 

• Focus on fixed costs and industrial efficiencies
The Group kept first-quarter fixed costs stable (Euro 101 million), having already made significant reductions in 2009. The Group kept a strong focus also on industrial efficiencies: efficiencies in materials, optimisation of logistics and production costs, and development of innovative production processes.

ENERGY CABLES AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS 

• POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR SUBMARINE CABLES: NEW PROJECTS EXPECTED IN NEXT QUARTERS 
• HIGH VOLTAGE UNDERGROUND CABLES: GROWTH IN ORDER BOOK IN Q1 (VS END 2009) 
• SIGNS OF RECOVERY IN POWER DISTRIBUTION; STEADY RECOVERY FROM Q2 
• SLIGHT RECOVERY IN T&I VOLUMES (+3% ON Q4 2009) STRONGER RECOVERY EXPECTED FROM Q2 
• OGP EXPECTED TO RESTART IN NEXT QUARTERS; STRONG ORDER BOOK IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

Sales to third parties by the Energy Cables and Systems segment amounted to Euro 866 million, compared with Euro 824 million in the first quarter of 2009. Net of metal price and exchange rate effects and changes in the group perimeter, the organic change in sales was a negative 11.7%. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to Euro 68 million (Euro 85 million in the first quarter of 2009), with a margin on sales of 7.8% (10.3% in the corresponding period of 2009). Adjusted operating income came to Euro 52 million (Euro 70 million in first quarter 2009), with the margin on sales down to 5.9% from 8.5% in the corresponding period of 2009.

Utilities
Sales to third parties by the Utilities business area amounted to Euro 370 million, reporting an organic decrease of 13.1%. On the whole, despite differences between the different business sectors and geographical areas, demand generally stabilised at the low levels already reached in the last part of 2009, with minor signs of improvement in both the power distribution and power transmission markets. In terms of profitability, margins were largely stable, with adjusted EBITDA staying at 14.0% of sales and adjusted operating income at 11.7%, down from 12.3% of sales.

Sales by the submarine energy cables and systems business line reported an organic increase on the corresponding period in 2009, confirming the recovery in investments by the utilities, particularly in new off-shore wind farms projects. Based on the existing order book, which covers production capacity for the next 18-24 months, sales in the next quarters are expected to report stronger growth.

Demand for high voltage underground cables confirmed the signs of stabilisation already seen in the second half of 2009, while the larger utilities restarted their investment programmes. The Group is involved in bids for various projects, which could further strengthen the order book currently covering production capacity for the next 6 months. Demand is strong in China, where the Group can exploit all market opportunities thanks to production capacity increases still in progress.

The power distribution business line reported the same level of demand as in the last few months of 2009, with a slow down in volumes in January due to adverse weather conditions in certain areas, followed by a recovery in February. Based on its current order book, the Group expects a stronger recovery in volumes from the second quarter of 2010.

Trade & Installers
Sales to third parties by the Trade & Installers business area amounted to Euro 312 million (Euro 241 million in the first quarter of 2009), posting an organic decrease of 8.6%. Despite continued uncertainty in demand, the Group is showing signs of a recovery in volumes, which grew by 3% in the first quarter of 2010 on the fourth quarter of 2009 (excluding acquisitions). This trend is expected to continue in the next quarters with a general stabilisation in prices. Adjusted operating margin on sales went down to 0.5% from 3.5% in the first quarter of 2009.

Industrial
Sales to third parties by the Industrial cables business area amounted to Euro 159 million (Euro 170 million in the first quarter of 2009), reporting an organic decrease of 17.3% mainly due to the low contribution from the oil&gas activities, which is expected to increase in the second half of the year. The renewable energy order book continued to be strong, while volumes in the automotive and branchement segments carried on recovering. Adjusted operating margin on sales was 4.1%, down from 7.7% in the first quarter of 2009.

TELECOM CABLES AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS 

• STABLE DEMAND FOR OPTICAL CABLES WITH VOLUME GROWTH IN USA AND CHINA 
• INCREASED COMMERCIAL PENETRATION WITH LARGE TELECOM OPERATORS 
• SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN MARGINS (ADJ EBITDA/SALES)

Sales to third parties by the Telecom Cables and Systems segment amounted to Euro 103 million (Euro 102 million in first quarter 2009), posting an organic decrease of 6.5% on the corresponding period of 2009. The reduction primarily reflected the geographical mix of optical cable sales and continued weak demand for copper cables. In the optical cables business line, the Group's commercial strategy has allowed it to strengthen its commercial position with large telecom incumbents, primarily in the USA and China. The start of optical cable production at the new plant in Romania will allow the Group to increase its presence in continental European markets. Adjusted operating income came to Euro 5 million (Euro 4 million in first quarter 2009). In terms of margins, adjusted EBITDA improved from 5.5% to 6.2% of sales, while adjusted operating income was stable at 4.5% of sales.

The FTTx segment continued to be fairly lively in the first quarter of 2010. In January Prysmian reached the important milestone of having installed 150,000 km of Optical Ground Wire cable worldwide.

PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

The Group's sales in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) reported an organic decrease of 6.9%, mainly due to negative changes in terms of price and product mix in the Trade & Installers, Power Distribution and Telecom businesses. EMEA accounted for 71.3% of total sales in the quarter.
Sales in North America posted an organic decrease of 18.3%, due to the widespread contraction in demand in all the Group's activities and the closure of the St. Jean sur Richelieu plant in Canada. North America accounted for 8.0% of total sales in the quarter.
Latin America posted an organic decrease in sales of 20.2%, particularly attributable to the low contribution from Oil&Gas sales, which are expected to improve in coming quarters. The region accounted for 10.4% of total sales in the quarter.
Asia Pacific reported an organic decrease in sales of 24.1%, almost entirely attributable to lower volumes in the Power Distribution and Industrial businesses on the Australian market. Asia Pacific accounted for 10.3% of total sales in the quarter.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK
The first three months of the year have confirmed stabilisation in demand and industrial output at the low levels already reached in the last part of 2009; furthermore, the weakness in demand, combined with the high price of raw materials, has negatively affected the Group's profit margins. Given this economic scenario, in 2010 the Group expects to see demand stabilise, at the minimum levels reached in the first quarter, for the Trade & Installers and Power Distribution businesses, with a possible gradual recovery during the year. On the other hand, orders are expected to recover for power transmission projects, for certain industrial applications such as renewable energy and off-shore oil drilling as well as for optical fibre cables supplied to major Telecom operators.
Based on the results achieved in the first three months, combined with the size of the current order book, FY 2010 adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of Euro 350-400 million; this range is related to development of the reference markets demand in the second half of the year (FY 2009: Euro 403 million).
The Group also continues to rationalise and improve efficiency in its industrial footprint and to optimise its cost structure, while confirming its investment plans already started in the high value-added businesses to further strengthen its presence in the most profitable, high-growth segments.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Further to the resolution adopted by the Board of Directors on 3 March 2010, Prysmian S.p.A. completed the placement of an unrated bond with institutional investors on the Eurobond market on 30 March for a total nominal amount of Euro 400 million.
Strong investor interest resulted in the receipt of applications for in excess of Euro 3 billion, meaning that the offer was more than 7.5 times oversubscribed. The bond, whose issue price was Euro 99.674, has a 5-year term and will pay a fixed annual coupon of 5.25%. The bonds were settled on 9 April 2010.
The bond has been admitted to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange's official list and trades on the related regulated market. Prysmian S.p.A. will use the bond proceeds to finance the Group's activities, including to refinance its existing debt. On 16 April 2010, Prysmian therefore made an early repayment of Euro 200 million against the Term Loan received on 4 May 2007; this repayment corresponds to the amounts that were due in 2010 and 2011 and means that the Term Loan now stands at Euro 770 million.

FURTHER RESOLUTIONS BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors has voted to appoint Mr. Massimo Branda (Head of Administration, Tax, Financial Accounting and Financial Reporting Compliance) and Mr. Jordi Calvo (Head of Planning, Control and Reporting) as "managers responsible for preparing corporate accounting documents" under art. 154-bis of Legislative Decree 58/1998. This appointment has been made with the favourable opinion of the Board of Statutory Auditors and in compliance with the integrity and competence requirements established by applicable legislation and the Company's By-laws and will be effective from 14 May 2010.

The First-Quarter Report 2010 will be filed at the Company's registered offices in Viale Sarca 222, Milan and with Borsa Italiana S.p.A. in compliance with relevant regulations. It will also be available on the corporate website at www.prysmian.com.

This 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.

Mr. Pier Francesco Facchini, manager responsible for preparing corporate accounting documents, hereby declares, pursuant to par. 2 art. 154-bis 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
A leading player in the industry of high-tech cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global business with more than Euro 3.7 million in sales in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA and South America, and around 12,000 employees.
Specialising in the development of products and systems even designed to customer specification, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.

Media Relations
Lorenzo Caruso
Marketing & Corporate Communications Director
Ph. 0039 02 64491
lorenzo.caruso@prysmian.com  

Investor Relations
Luca Caserta
Head of Investor Relations
Ph. 0039 02 64491
luca.caserta@prysmian.com