Annual Report 2011

REPORT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, ASSETS, AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN 2011 AND INFORMATION ON THE BUSINESS PLAN DearShareholders, 2011will go down in the Company'smodern history as a good year. Our ambitious business strategy gradually led to an adequate utilisation of the technological equipment that came near to a pre-crisis level.The streamlining measures taken in the past to eliminate the impacts of the globaleconomicandfinancialcrisiswerewell-targetedandthecrisismadeusstrongerandenrichedourexperience. The Board of Directors evaluates the previous year as very positive, especially as we achieved the objectives defined in the business and financial plan, despite the problems in March caused by the fire in the seamless tubes rolling mill. The emergency event tested the preparednessandcoordinationofalmostallcompanyunits.Thefiredestroyedelectricalmainsaswellasthecontrolandregulationunitsofthe rollingmill.Wecompletedtherepairinashorttimeandproductionwasresumedafteronly18days.