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| FCC's new Chairwoman holds first shareholders' meeting  On May 22, 2013, FCC's new Chairwoman, Esther Alcocer Koplowitz presided over her first Shareholders' Meeting in Barcelona. The shareholders approved the financial statements, the financial results and all items on the agenda by a broad majority.In her presentation, Esther Alcocer told the Meeting that she was "honoured" to chair the Board of Directors, a position she undertakes "with enthusiasm, commitment and determination to defend the interests of all shareholders." "We are entering a new era with a young and invigorated team, and we will apply a pragmatic approach in addressing the imbalances caused by the crisis", said Ms Alcocer. Both Esther Alcocer and Juan Béjar highlighted the contribution by the group's principal shareholder, Esther Koplowitz, who recently received the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Environmental Merit. Mr Béjar presented the figures for 2012 and explained the main lines of the Strategic Plan for the coming years. During his speech, Mr Béjar highlighted the strengths of FCC: its leading position in domestic markets such as Spain, the UK, and Central Europe, especially in environmental services and water; the recurring nature of the business, evidenced by the fact that 65% of EBITDA comes from long-term contracts; and its international presence, with 56% of revenues coming from markets outside Spain. He also underlined the "visibility of sales", the result of a backlog equivalent to 3.5 years' revenues, and "FCC's comprehensive offer in environmental services and water", from waste treatment to end-to-end water management. Mr Béjar highlighted the main lines of the Strategic Plan implemented by FCC some months ago: reducing debt, generating cash to improve the Group's financial position, sharply reducing structural costs, and preparing managers to work in a global environment. The plan calls for debt to be reduced by 2.2 billion euro through divestments amounting to 550 million in the Construction area, 270 million in Services and 1.380 billion in the other businesses. He also discussed the restructuring of the Construction and Cement businesses, which includes adjusting production capacity in Spain and rolling back Alpine to focus on domestic markets, as well as boosting its efficiency. As regards other international activity, the focus will be on projects and areas with the greatest potential demand. The Shareholders' Meeting approved all items on the agenda, including the 2012 financial statements, the directors' report, the reduction of directors' terms from five to three years, and the appointment and re-appointment of directors. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Construction News :: home page |