Annual report 2012

ŽELEZIARNE PODBREZOVÁ A.S. A NNUAL REPORT 2012 2 INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dear Shareholders, In the year of 172 nd anniversary of its founding, Železiarne Podbrezová a.s., one of the oldest metallurgical companies in the European Union, finished the year with positive economic results despite the difficult conditions in which the Company operated. It should be emphasised that the competitiveness of the environment created in the Slovak Republic and theEuropeanUnionhas not been and is not easy.