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Nexans, the world's largest cable maker, has announced its sales results for Q1 2009. In the three months to March 31, sales amounted to 1.245 billion euros (US$1.61 billion), down by 28.5% compared with the same period in 2008 at constant metal prices. Net debt at the end of Q1 was reduced to 362 million euros (US$468 million) compared to 536 million euros (US$693 million) at the end of Q4 2008. The company said that in response to the economic crisis, it will accelerate restructuring and cut the workforce by 900. Nexans has restructured its business in Canada while it intends to shut down its Building Cable business in Germany. Further plans may be announced mainly in Europe.

Positive expectations for copper producers have been generated by the recent increases in copper prices that reached US$4,725/t on the LME on 17th April. In Germany, copper smelter Aurubis expects that backed by rising prices the company will achieve oparating profits in the current fiscal year. Due to writedowns, the group suffered net losses in Q1 2009. In Poland, copper miner KGHM said that higher than expected prices may support the company to surpass its forecast. As a result, the company is updating its budget assumptions.

Furukawa Electric announced that in Q1 of fiscal year 2009 it suffered group net losses of Y3.51 billion (US$37.1 million) compared with profits of Y6.89 billion (US$72.7 million) in the same period of 2008. Revenues in Q1 FY2009 amounted to Y166.74 billion (US$1.76 billion) vs. Y287.04 billion (US$3.03 billion) realised in the same period of 2008. For H1 FY2009, the company is expecting to achieve group revenues of Y376.00 billion (US$3.97 billion) whilst for the full FY2009 Y807.00 billion (US$8.52 billion).

Prysmian SpA, the Italian cable maker, has announced consolidated sales results for Q1 2009. Sales amounted to EURO 926 million, a decrease of 11.5% compared with the same period in 2008. Net profit was EURO 91 million, down by 11.1% y-o-y. The company attributed this decline to the economic downturn, already evident in Q4 2008. In response to this, Prysmian is focusing on higher value-added activities and high-tech market segments. The company said that it managed to achieve satisfactory profits supported by the growth of sales in the sectors of high voltage underground and submarine cables along with industrial cables such as those for oil& gas, renewable energy and infrastructure.

General Cable, the US wire and cable maker, announced that its net income in Q3 2009 amounted to US$16.4 million compared with US$50.5 million in the same period last year. This is a 68% y-o-y plunge. Net sales in Q3 2009 added up to US$1.08 billion, down by 25% y-o-y on a metal adjusted basis. In the same period, operating income plummeted by 59% y-o-y to US$49.4 million. The company expects that in Q4 markets in developing regions will perform relatively better compared with developed regions. This is partly attributed to infrastructure projects and better credit conditions.

"What are the most important key performance indicators? There are, for example, indicators defining the temperature changes in reference rooms. This includes what is referred to as hours of overheating in summer. If the room temperature exceeds 26 degrees Celsius during more than 10 percent of the hours of use during a year, the room comfort is no longer achieved. Other indicators measure air quality. For example, there are CO2 sensors or so-called VOC-sensors that detect certain scents emitted by the users themselves. If the data exceed certain values, the performance in terms of air quality is not considered as good. In addition, there are energy performance indicators, such as an indicator for the overall energy efficiency of a building. We simply measure the energy that is supplied to the building. We then compare the data to pre-calculated values. We can then evaluate whether the building achieves the desired energy performance. Another indicator is the so-called net energy consumption. This is the energy that users actually have to pay for. "

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