SAFT : Groupe SA reports fourth quarter and full year 2009 sales

PR Newswire/Les Echos/

Press release

N° 03-10

       Saft Groupe SA reports fourth quarter and full year 2009 sales

Paris, 28th January 2010 - Saft, leader in the design, development
and manufacture of high-end batteries for industry and defence, announces 
its sales for the fourth quarter and the year ended 31 December 2009.

                           Sales highlights

 ? Q4 2009 sales were EUR148.7m, an 8.9% reduction YoY as reported,
   and a 6.0% reduction YoY at constant exchange rates.
 ? Improved performance from Q3 2009 when the sales reduced by 13.2% at 
   constant exchange rates.
 
 ? Full year 2009 sales were EUR559.3m, an 8.2% reduction YoY as 
   reported, and a 9.6% reduction at constant exchange rates.

 ? Full year sales were in line with new guidance confirmed in early 
   November 2009.

John Searle, Chairman of the Management Board, commented:

"I am pleased with Saft's sales performance during Q4 2009 which is showing 
the first signs of a recovely and which was overall a marked improvement 
from the previous quarters. Although sales were lower YoY in several markets, 
the reductions were materially lower than in previous quarters and the 
activities that were the most impacted in H1, such as our small nickel
battery activities, registered the strongest improvements.

With this sales performance during Q4, I expect that Saft's profitability 
for 2009 will be in line with the guidance confirmed at the time of Saft's 
capital increase in November 2009.

With the funding for our projects in the US assured, a key objective now is 
to launch these major investments for Saft and Johnson Controls-Saft. 
Conditional Contracts have been signed with the US Department of
Energy and the final details will be concluded in the coming weeks. 
Preparation work continues in the confidence that the US Govemment funding 
has been secured."

TURNOVER (EUR millions) 

Fourth quarter

Q4 2009 sales of EUR148.6m were down 8.9% as reported and down 6.0% at 
constant exchange rates, compared with Q4 2008.

                                             Growth / decline
Product line   Q4 2009   Q4 2008       at actual          at constant   
                                    exchange rates       exchange rates
IBG (with RBS)   85.2     94.9          (10.2)%              (8.6)%
  IBG excl. RBS  68.5     75.9           (9.7)%              (8.1)%
  Former RBS     16.7     19.0          (12.2)%             (10.5)%
SBG              63.5     68.2           (7.0)%              (2.5)%
Total           148.7    163.1           (8.9)%              (6.0)%

Sales numbers are at actual exchange rates.
The average exchange rate in Q4 2009 was EUR1 to $1.48 (compared with EUR1 
to $1.32 in Q4 2008). 
There was no change in perimeter between Q4 2008 and Q4 2009.

Year ended 31 December 2009

Sales for the year ended 31 December 2009 of EUR559.3m were down 8.2% as
reported and down 9.6% at constant exchange rates, compared with 2008.

        
                                           Growth / decline
Product line   FY 2009   FY 2008       at actual          at constant      
                                    exchange rates       exchange rates
IBG (with RBS)   317.7    368.6        (13.8)%              (15.3)%
  IBG excl. RBS  257.7    292.1        (11.8)%              (13.5)%
  Former RBS      60.0     76.5        (21.5)%              (22.5)%
SBG              241.6    240.8           0.3%               (0.8)%
Total            559.3    609.4          (8.2)%              (9.6)%

Sales numbers are at actual exchange rates.
The average exchange rate for 2009 was EUR1 to $1.39 (compared with EUR1 to 
$1.47 during 2008). 
There was no change in perimeter between 2008 and 2009.

Industrial Battery Group (IBG)

Based on the perimeter in place since the beginning of H2 2009, the sales
in Q4 totalled EUR85.2m, a reduction of 8.6% at constant exchange rates YoY 
and of 10.2% at actual rates. During the quarter, there was an improved 
performance from both the traditional IBG business and the recently merged 
RBS activities.

Within the traditional IBG activities, there was strong growth
reported in the rail segment with a favourable phasing of deliveries and a
return to modest growth in the telecom market.

Within the aviation segment, the reduction in sales was less marked than in 
previous quarters.

The industrial standby segment reported a small fall in sales compared with 
2008. This late cycle activity supplies back-up power batteries linked with 
infrastructure investments.

The performance of the small nickel battery activities (ex RBS)
reported a sharp recovery from the very poor H1 with sales 10.5% below Q4 
2008. The recovery was seen in both the emergency lighting and professional
electronics markets.

For the full year, sales decreased by 15.3% YoY at
constant exchange rates and by 13.8% at actual rates. This reduction was 
greater than anticipated in February 2009 and was a result of challenging 
conditions in the aviation, telecom and small nickel battery markets.

Specialty Battery Group (SBG)

Sales in Q4 were EUR63.5m, a reduction of 2.5% at constant exchange rates
YoY and a reduction of 7.0% at actual rates.

During Q4, there was a stronger performance from the civil electronics market 
after two poor quarters with only a small reduction in sales YoY. This 
suggests that Q2-Q3 2009 were the trough of the cycle for this activity, 
and that the destocking phase ended during Q3.

The military market recorded stable sales during Q4 due to some timing issues 
with long term contracts and a more challenging base of comparison. But 
overall, 2009 military sales were up 17.8% YoY at constant exchange rates.

The space market continued to record modest growth during 2009 with a very 
strong final quarter.

For the full year, SBG sales were broadly flat at +0.3% at actual
rates and -0.8% at constant exchange rates. There was a contrasted 
performance. The weak conditions in the civil electronics market in 2009 
have been almost fully offset by strong growth in military markets.

Jacksonville and Michigan projects

For each project, the Conditional Contract has been signed with the US
DoE which authorises recipients to daim up to 10% of the total grant prior
signing the final agreement.

A limited number of administrative issues need to be concluded before these 
contracts become definitive and these will be completed during Q1 2010.

Work is proceeding in readiness for "ground breaking" in Jacksonville in 
the coming weeks.

Both facilities will build the first cells during 2011 with the investments 
being completed at the end of 2012.

.Financial calendar 2010

2009 earnings release                      19 February 2010

2010 Q1 turnover                            29 April 2010

2010 Q2 turnover and half year earnings      28 July 2010

2010 Q3 turnover                          3 November 2010

        IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements
including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or 
indicate future events, trends, plans, objectives or results of operation. 
Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their 
nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and 
can be affected by other factors that could cause actuel results and Saft's 
plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed or implied 
in the forward looking statements. Saft draws attention to the risk factors 
described in pages 64 to 70 and 107 to 112 of Saft's registration document 
(Annuel Report) registered on 2nd April 2009 with the Autorité des marchés 
financiers under No. R.09-014.

About Saft
Saft (Euronext: Saft) is a world specialist in the design and manufacture
of high-tech batteries for industry. Saft batteries are used in high 
performance applications, such as industrial infrastructure and processes,
transportation, space and defence. Saft is the world's leading manufacturer 
of nickel-cadmium batteries for industrial applications and of primat)/ 
lithium batteries for a wide range of end markets. The group is also the 
European leader for specialised advanced technologies for the defence and 
space industries. With approximately 4,000 employees worldwide, Saft is 
present in 18 countries. Its 15 manufacturing sites and extensive sales 
network enable the group to serve its customers worldwide. Saft is listed 
in the SBF 120 index on the Paris Stock Market.
For more information, visit Saft at www.saftbatteries.com

Press and Investor Contacts:

SAFT
Jill Ledger, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
Director Tel.: [phone], [e-mail] 

FINANCIAL DYNAMICS
Stéphanie Bia, Tel.: [phone], [e-mail] 
Yannick Duvergé, Tel.: [phone], [e-mail] 
Clément Bénétreau, Tel.: [phone], [e-mail]
                      
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