Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We are pleased to welcome for this chat session Frédéric Vincent, Chairman and CEO of Nexans, who will comment on the anual results and answer your questions live.

gerrard: Your operating margin in 2009 has decreased to 6% of the turnover with a constant non-iron metals rate, compared to 8.9% in 2008. How could you explain this and what are you planning to do to solve this?
Our margin has gone to 6 % because our volumes have contracted significantly. We have safeguarded our market rate and we have made an effort to hold our prices. We have also responded with a restructuring plan which has allowed us to free up savings of about 60m euros at the beginning of 2009.

Zoran92 : What was the impact of the stock market crisis on your activities in 2009?
The stock market didn't have a direct impact, it doesn't reflect economic difficulties that cause a 17% decrease in our turnover. This only enabled FSI to enter into our share capital of 5%. How many companies need liquidity, true ! We can see discounts of 30-40%. But this is not the case for Nexans. we are not going to dilute the share prices.

Marc: Your goals are to be less cyclic as possible. However according to the Group's shares and orders, you still seem very sensitive to the economic context. What are you planning to do?
Any company is sensitive to its business cycle. There are ways of safeguarding yourself. What safeguards Nexans is 45-50% of its business in infrastructure windfarms, off shore oil rigs are not affected by short term issues. We have long-term contracts. About 800m euros of turnover. We have order books on our long-term activites, which allow us to see 18months in advance.

Serge Leroy : From a faithful subscriber. I bought in my share portfolio some stocks in 2008 which went from 8,739 BEuros to 58,09 BEuros today. What would you do in my place in 2010? Thank you all.
I wouldn't sell in his shoes, but everyone has their own shoes! I have shares, I won't sell them. Analysts are talking about 65-70 per share. I think there is room to manoeuver, it will be all right.

You're talking about Nexans transformation, do you think investors have understood Nexans has changed?
I think investors have understood Nexans changed between 2001 and today. In 2002 we were doing 4bn turnover at 2%, in 2009 our profitability is 6%
with the peaks and troughs of the market we have switched from 25 to 50 euros when the Cac40 went in the opposite direction.

Drago : Will dividends be distributed by company this year?
We will be making dividend payments of 1eur/share. Shareholders are part and parcel of the growth of the company. The company always pays out a dividend of about 30% of its bottom line consistent with this payment. 3-4% yield for the average share price of 2009.

gerard : With the acquisition of 5% of the capital of Nexans in july, FSI has become the second biggest shareholders after the Chilian Madeco (9%). What does this shareholders represents to you ? Apart from capital, what does it provide you with ? Is it involved the administration on the board?
There is a non executive director who was previously an executive director, Jerome Gallo. These FSI people understand that the economy doesn't work on command. When you invest in Qatar, Russia, India, you will see the results down the road. It's for the long haul. FSI appreciates Nexans' strategy. If we need to increase our capital, we can do so. FSI is a reference shareholder. Today we have 14-15% of shares by industrial players. FSI is a player that knows what it's doing.

Bocahu alain : Mr Vicent Is there any future in cabling in France for Nexans? Knowing that our competitor Prysmian is planning to relocate part of their production in Tunisia?
This is not empty talk, the cable market in France has a future. The proof is in the pudding. People who have left since 05 have been filled. We have also invested. We shouldn't leave France. We are not thinking of relocating. The recent closure of Chauny was not to relocate, it was to consolidate Lens venue. It is not cannibalism. It is in our best interest to stay in France. We have 20 or so plants in France. We employ about 3500 people in France

Pol17 : What will be our business policy on the mid and long term?
We're going to be focusing on long cycle items, energy, power, telecoms. We are focusing on all areas of our business like the infrastructure items i mentioned earlier on. We are going to offer sales items of quality. Logistics, installers of cables as well… this is all part of quality. We need to help grid operators. provide coils to shipbuilders. pre-cut. We will be focusing on this for 2010 and beyond.

Thierry : Frederic Michellin - financial director - is looking to a dificult year in 2010. However, on the on hand our activities in the Americas seem to improve this year, and on the other hand 2010 shall show an increasing power of the emerging countries. Why aren't you really present in emerging countries? Are you planning to get involved there ? in which countries ? what are your prospects on the US market ?
We place a lot of trust in our bread and butter. The building sector, cables. What we see today is not an improvement in short term. We should be honest with our investors and see 2010 as difficult. If we do better, so be it. But we are frank with our shareholders. The crisis is not over and I stand by that. We know what we are talking about. We are not selling dreams, we are selling cable. When we see recovery we will shout it from the rooftops. Question was about emerging countries. Emerging countries account for about 25% of turnover. Not negligible. ! Thanks to these areas we have been able to defend our margins. Is this sterling work sufficient? Probably not, we are still tapping emerging countries for growth. We are the #1 cable operator in South America. There are other opportunities in the Middle East.

What are your ambitions for US market?
In the Americas we want a braoder footprint, and have for some time. We need to be a bigger player. 3-4% market share in North America. 20% in Canada. We need to strike up partnerships, but haven't been able to do that yet.

Do they need a lot of networks in the US?
The north american grid is old and subject to breakdowns. In 2003 there was a large failure. The potential is ready and waiting for the picking.

Patrick M: Thank you for this chat. It's always a pleasure to be able to talk to hierarchy. Stock exchange is not very good. What's your opinion? How should we react? How are employees responsible for this ? Thank you for your honest answer.
It's unfair to say that. The way market prices increasded in 2009, outstripped Cac40 prices. We maintained 8-10% over cac40. That has contracted a little bit but we are still ahead of the game. That's good that Patrick is following this, it shows people care ! We don't know where 2010 is going. A lot of people got their fingers burned. This is part of being on the stock exchange. sometimes people sing your praises. We all need to work, let's go down this road together, Patrick. The markets always reward those with long-term vision.

Nex : What are employment expectations in terms of functional positions (internal audit…) at Nexans according to the slowing economic context?
We're good at corporate controls. We are in the top ranks of people who are bringing up results from 2001 and 2002. We are transparent. In 2010 we all know that the group needs to continue with restructuring. The market is still up in the air. We need to focus growth on emerging countries. When people set up in China, they are using local labor.
But we can't make any promises in terms of employement.

iansoftys : Good morning Mr Vincent. We talk a lot about commitments in terms of sustainable development? What actions are we going to launch?
This is a good question about sustainable development. In Nexans we subscribed to the UN charter. CSR Corporate Social Responsibility. Top management governs in a civic fashion. Our employees are dealt with no discrimination and trained properly. We are fully in compliance with all local laws of the countries we operate in. This was adopted since november 2008. I chair a CSR unit to make sure we are where we should be with the above. From a CO2 point, we produce 400ktons, others produce 400m! We don't pollute much. We can do more. We produce cables that pollute less.
Business fundamentally creates pollution. Cables are important to efficient energy. Less power loss in transit.

Concerning the market, any possible acquisitions ?
It's all very scattered. there are big world players and lots of regional players. Olex in Australia we got in 2006. We have a presence in South America. The cable market is globalizing and regional players are looking for shelter. Regional consolidations are more likely.

Michel du Canada : Are you still interested in Cable Alcan of Rio Tinto. Are you planning to resume negociations? Thank you in advance and congratulations for this chat.
Cable Alcan, I can't really say. We are looking at beefing up our presence in the sector. It fell through. Maybe it can be put together again. I don't know. We can say that we have financial punching power if we want to punch.

Tata : How do you see Nexans in mid term say 5 to 10 years?
I have to put my cards on the table and say : I don't know. It's difficult to look 5-10 years down the road. What will protect Nexans is beefing up our presence in transport, electricity. Moving away from low-voltage and others. We want to consolidate and grow, but it's hard to throw out figures. The other business telecom cables are not poor cousins. They are important businesses however. They brought in 10% to our margins. They can be profitable. But they're cyclical.

John : What are the stages tha Nexans must go through to become world number one? Who are next competitors?
We are #1 in the world! We are the biggest cable manufacturer in the world, 6-7% world market share in turnover. Who is our competition. Prysmian in Italy, formerly Pirelli, similar to us, maybe a bigger presence in telecom. 4bn in turnover, we've done 5bn. Draker, good at specialist cables, also General Cable in the Americas, 3-4bn in turnover and a strong hold in the American market. High voltage and utility cable. Comapnies in the Middle East are emerging players, entering the 1bn ballpark. The Koreans in Asia, of course. LS a former spinoff of Goldstar, and Tyan. 4 western players and players appearing on the radar in the Middle East and Asia

You didn't mention any chinese cable companies?
There are about 3000 cable manufacturers in China, but these are mainstream. Confined to the chinese market. Lots of scattered small-time players.

So what is Nexans strategy for China?
We want to develop specialist cables in China, not fight over low-end. Shipbuilding, and train rolling stock. Materials handling in ports require cables, and high-voltage cables that service the chinese market where there isn't much competition. In shanghai we've established Shibo underground high-voltage. Needs are starting to emerge.

Reine Zénobie: How is Nexans strategy evolving for customer service?
Good question. Client service is at the heart of our concerns. We want to improve our sales corporate culture. To date we have been industrial. Earlier we citerd things like pre-peeled cables ready to use. We need to serve the customer in full and on time. Provide a good quality product that works in extreme environments, on time.. The needs are the same everywhere, shipments on time, quality.

Do you have a strategy for copper?
Our supplies are safeguarded. The instiutional market is the largest copper market in the world. They guarantee regular flows of copper. We secure our physical supplies. Price volatilities need systematic hedges. If we sell copper at closed positions. We are not interested in speculating in raw materials. We have to have a buffer. Orders are matched in real time. There are no major hedgings. Copper goes up and down but that's beside the point.

lansoftys : You're a young CEO, how do you feel about your position after a few months? What's your personal assessment ?
Maxime: how do you feel regarding your predecessor Mr Hauser? What are yure relationships ?
The board and Paris thought that the switchover was a model for corporate governance. In 2006 I was called a crown prince (a dauphin)
but these (dolphins) can be an endangered species! My rise happened little by little over time. Things had to be done incrementally. This is how it should be done.

Could you go back of your career path?
Since 2006 I had some financial responsibilities, then position in an operational direction and then I entered the executive board . I came from HEC and SciencePo. Most of my career was in finance and then Alcatel (Nexans was owned by Alcatel then) in 2000 when it spun off Nexans, Gérard Hauser asked me to join him.

What is your relationship with Mr Hauser?
We have a fantastic relationship. If I need him I know I can turn to him.

You had quite a big year!
Indeed! The selling feature for the year is that in troubled times, a leader needs to have support. I have built a team around me - a close-knit executive committee. A company is a community of people that requires mutual respect. You can withstand anything if you have that.

Thank you ver much Mr Vincent. A word to conclude?
What can I say? Personally, I am very confident for the future. Sterling work has been done. my predecessor too. Massive inroads have been made in emerging products. We have low debt, quality products, stellar employees. These are trump cards for us, our future and our shareholders.