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Growth inspired by shared values
 2006 was a year of further performance improvements for our Group: revenues gained 17.1% (to 5.85 billion euro), gross operating profit increased by 25.5% (to 1.44 billion euro), operating profit rose by 32.2% (to 1.01 billion euro), and total net profit reached 651 million euro, an improvement of 20.5%. These results have set new records and were achieved through significant contributions from all the lines of business in which the Group’s 22,850 employees work. Another important growth factor was the broad geographical base of our international operations, a market diversification trend that is set to continue.
Last year’s investments in fixed assets (773 million euro) helped us strengthen operations in the emerging nations (Egypt, India and Turkey) and upgrade industrial facilities in the mature countries (Italy, France, Spain and North America).
The Group’s business growth is accompanied by an ever greater focus on Corporate Governance, which, in our organization, stands for business ethics together with the creation of value in a context of sustainable development. Our progress in this area reached an important milestone last year with the presentation of the Italcementi Group Charter of Values, a document that sets out the fundamental principles of the Italcementi Codes of Governance and the goals of the Group’s Sustainable Development strategy, presenting them as a cohesive whole.
 The Charter of Values is the point at which the individual ethics of each employee converge with the ethics of the corporate body. It encompasses the undertakings assumed by the enterprise and by our workers, placing the individual at the heart of Italcementi’s development so that our common growth is fuelled by the contribution of each individual.
The values declared by the Charter constitute a force for the growth and progress of a Group active in 19 countries, compatibly with the environment, with human rights, with the unique social and cultural attributes of each population and each country, as part of an on-going commitment for a better quality of life and the advancement of the communities of which the Group is a member.
This is our guiding vision as we strive to recognize and enhance the specific characteristics of each community and each individual.
Giampiero Pesenti Carlo Pesenti
Chairman Chief Executive Officer
 
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