For APRIL GROUP, 2008 was above all an eventful year, with still dynamic organic growth, the continuing expansion of the APRIL Santé and Mutant Assurances networks and several major acquisition projects in France and abroad. In terms of earnings, as we had announced in December, APRIL GROUP booked a provision of €16 million in the income statement under IFRS for impairment in the fair value of certain financial assets resulting from the exceptional deterioration in the financial markets. Operating profit came to €95.1 million, down by 9.1% essentially due to this provision. The operating margin came to 12.9% of consolidated sales compared with 17.3% the previous year, down by 4.4 points with half of this decrease due to the provision for impairment of financial assets and one point due to operating expenses linked to the launch of the APRIL Santé network.

By no means; APRIL GROUP continues, more than ever, to be a “master broker”, i.e. wholesale broker. Downstream, our strategy continues to focus on broker distribution given its performance and the recurrent nature of the business model. At the same time we continue to develop our three distribution networks so that we can offer our partner distributors a comprehensive range of partnership solutions, from the most independent to the most integrated. Far from competing with each other, the different channels complement each other. Upstream in the value chain, our captive companies are designed to consolidate our broker model as a source of flexibility, profitability and innovation. These companies currently represent less than 10% of the Group’s gross margin. APRIL GROUP therefore remains true to its corporate vision as an architect of insurance services focused on profitable and growing niche markets.

We continue to focus on steady growth, both organic and through acquisitions. In terms of acquisitions, we are extremely vigilant with regard to valuation levels but we believe some good opportunities may arise during this crisis period. Our international strategy is a good example; we target profitable brokers with access to controlled distribution channels and the capacity to manage customer services at local level. In terms of margin, our operating investments will be partly reined in so as to restore normative margins in the short term. The uncertain economic outlook calls for a healthy dose of caution even though we are confident that we can achieve double-digit growth in sales and earnings in 2009 barring exceptional market circumstances. I would like to take this opportunity to stress that APRIL GROUP is in a strong position to weather the crisis thanks to a stable shareholder structure, a business model that is recurrent and diversified both in terms of markets and geographically, and a healthy financial situation with virtually no debt.