Pursuant to EC Regulation 1606/2002 of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards, the consolidated financial statements of GET SA for the financial year ended 31 December 2008 have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union at 31 December 2008.

Groupe Eurotunnel SA’s consolidated accounts were approved by the board on 3 March 2009, and certified by the statutory auditors.

The Group has recorded a solid profit which, for the first time in Eurotunnel’s history, allows us to pay a dividend.

On the strength of an excellent first half year and despite the fire which reduced traffic from September onwards, Eurotunnel has continued to increase its operating margin (EBITDA) in 2008, to €421M, which is approximately 16% above the objective in the safeguard plan (at a constant exchange rate and restated under IFRS). With this improvement in operations and with the reduction in net financial charges as a result of the financial restructuring (-2% in 2008 following -42% in 2007), the consolidated net profit for Groupe Eurotunnel SA in 2008 was €40M. This profit enables Eurotunnel, for the first time in its history, to propose that the Annual General Meeting of shareholders approves the payment of a dividend of 4 cents of a euro per share.

1. The pro forma consolidated income statement for the period 1 January to 31 December 2007 was intended to present the impact on the year of the 2007 financial restructuring as if it had been put in place on the theoretical date of 1 January 2007.
2. In order to enable a better comparison between the years, the 2006 consolidated income statement and 2007 consolidated pro forma income statement presented below have been recalculated at the exchange rate used for the 2008 income statement: £1 = €1.216.

In € million (€M)	2008	2007 pro forma 1 restated 2	% change	2007 pro forma 1 published
Exchange rate €/£	1.216	1.216		1.437
Shuttle services Railways Other revenue	431 260  13	464 242  12	-7% +7% +7%	500 262  13
Revenue Other income3	704  44	718 -	-2%	775 -
Total turnover Operating expenses Employee benefit expense	748 (200) (127)	718 (197) (120)	+4% +1% +6%	775 (210) (126)
Operating margin (EBITDA) Depreciation	421 (160)	401 (162)	+5% -1%	439 (162)
Trading profit Other operating income/(expenses)	261  28	239  (12)	+9% n/a	277  (13)
Operating profit (EBIT) Income from cash and cash equivalents Gross cost of servicing debt	289  19 (268)	227  13 (268)	n/a +42% =	264  14 (292)
Net cost of financing and debt service	(249)	(255)	-2%	(278)
Result after net cost of financing and debt service Profit arising from the financial restructuring Other financial income and income tax expenses	40  -  -	(28) 3,323     16		(14) 3,323     15
Profit for the year	40	3,311		3,324

^*3 Other income: advances on insurance indemnities for operating losses, received in 2008 and accounted for in « Other income », including reduction for €10M excess.
 

Total turnover3 in €M2 (Excluding MUC top-up in 2006)	Operating costs in €M2

EBITDA and EBITDA / Total turnover2 (excluding MUC top-up in 2006)
Trading profit in €M2 (excluding MUC top-up in 2006)	Net cost of financing and debt service in €M2
Net result in €M2

Figures given above are extracts from Groupe Eurotunnel SA’s 2008 annual consolidated accounts which are available on our corporate internet site by clicking here.  

Information published on 23 March 2009