Form 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of November 2002
ALSTOM
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(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
25, avenue Kléber, 75116 Paris, France
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(Address of Registrant's Principal Executive Office)
(Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F)
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
----- -----
(Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant, by furnishing the
information contained in this Form, is also thereby furnishing the information
to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934)
Yes No X
----- -----
(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
Registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):____)
Enclosures:
Press release dated October 30, 2002 "ALSTOM Wins Spanish Train
Maintenance Contract Worth Around 500 Million Euros"...........................3
Press release dated November 5, 2002 "Patrick Kron to Succeed Pierre
Bilger"........................................................................5
Press release dated November 5, 2002 "Solid Progress in First-Half
Results 2003 (1st April 2002 - 30 September 2002)".............................6
30 October 2002
ALSTOM WINS SPANISH TRAIN MAINTENANCE CONTRACT
WORTH AROUND 500 MILLION EUROS
ALSTOM has just been awarded a train maintenance contract by RENFE, Spain's
national railways, worth approximately 500 million euros. The contract, which
will span a 14 year period, is for a total of 24 trains, including 18 very high
speed AVE trains, and 21 locomotives.
This order confirms ALSTOM's strategy to rapidly grow its service activities in
transport thanks to its wide range of expertise.
This new contract comprises the maintenance of:
- the 18 AVE trains, supplied by ALSTOM, which operate at 300km/h on the
Madrid-Seville line. These trains have been maintained by ALSTOM since the
inauguration of the line in 1992.
- 6 Euromed trains for the Barcelona-Valencia-Alicante line.
- 21 locomotives which pull trains operating at 200km/hour on the
Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Barcelona lines.
- Associated facilities.
Michel Moreau, President of ALSTOM's Transport Sector, said: "We are delighted
that RENFE has decided to renew its confidence in ALSTOM, after 10 years of
successful cooperation between our two companies. The AVE trains supplied and
maintained by ALSTOM on the Madrid-Seville line have proven extremely reliable
and successful with the passengers, making them the biggest commercial success
of the Spanish railways : the number of passengers on these trains has been
multiplied by two, since their introduction on the Spanish network in 1992."
ALSTOM is the global specialist in energy and transport infrastructure. The
Company serves the energy market through its activities in the fields of power
generation and power transmission and distribution, and the transport market
through its activities in rail and marine. In fiscal year 2001/02, ALSTOM had
annual sales in excess of €23 billion and employed 118,000 people in over 70
countries.
ALSTOM is listed on the Paris, London and New York stock exchanges.
ALSTOM's Transport Sector, with annual sales of €4.4 billion, is an
internationally leading supplier of rolling stock, information systems, services
and complete turnkey systems to the rail industry.
Press enquiries: S. Gagneraud / G. Tourvieille
(Tel. +33 1 47 55 25 87) - internet.press@chq.alstom.com
Investor relations: E. Rocolle-Teyssier
(Tel.+33 1 47 55 25 78) - investor.relations@chq.alstom.com
internet: www.alstom.com
PRESS INFORMATION
5 November 2002
ALSTOM
PATRICK KRON TO SUCCEED PIERRE BILGER
During a meeting on 4 November 2002, following a proposal by the Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer and by the Nominations and Remuneration Committee, the
Board of ALSTOM has appointed Mr Patrick KRON as Chief Executive Officer.
This appointment will be effective from 1 January 2003. Pierre BILGER will
remain Chairman of the Board until 31 December 2003, when Patrick KRON will also
succeed him as Chairman.
Mr KRON is 49 years old. A graduate of l'Ecole Polytechnique and of the Paris
Ecole des Mines, he began his professional career in the Ministry of Industry
between 1979 and 1984. Between 1984 and 1998, Mr KRON held a number operational
responsibilities within the Pechiney Group and was Chairman of the Carbone
Lorraine Company between 1993 and 1997. Since March 1998, he has been Chief
Executive Officer of Imerys (formerly Imetal) and he has been a member of the
Board of ALSTOM since July 2001.
Pierre BILGER commented:
"I am delighted to announce Mr Patrick KRON's appointment as ALSTOM's Chief
Executive Officer and future Chairman of the Board. Patrick's exceptional
industrial, operational and international experience, combined with his
practical knowledge of the financial markets, make him an ideal candidate to
successfully meet the challenges ALSTOM faces today.
"This decision ensures continuity. As a member of the Board, Patrick has already
acquired a detailed knowledge of ALSTOM and the twelve months I will spend at
his side as Chairman of the Board will further help to ensure a smooth
transition. It also ensures an orderly, planned succession during an important
period in the company's development, when the benefits of the Restore Value
programme are beginning to flow.
"I am proud to have led ALSTOM for almost 12 years, during which time the
company has grown from a modest Franco-British joint venture into a global group
employing more than 112,000 people worldwide, and ranking among the top three in
each of its four markets. I am confident that Patrick will make a significant
contribution to the Company's future success, both in the short term as we
continue to deliver our Restore Value plan, and in the longer term as the Group
continues its profitable growth".
Press enquiries: G. Tourvieille/S. Gagneraud
(Tel. +33 1 47 55 23 15)
internet.press@chq.alstom.com
Investor relations: E. Rocolle-Teyssier
(Tel.+33 1 47 55 25 78)
investor.relations@chq.alstom.com
ALSTOM - 25 avenue Kléber - 75795 Paris
Cedex 16 - Tel : 33 (0)1 47 55 25 87 - Fax : 33 (0)1 47 55 24 38
PRESS INFORMATION
5 November 2002
Solid Progress in First-Half Results 2003
1st April 2002 - 30 September 2002
Resilient performance
o Orders received: 10.5 bn, down 6% on first half 2002, but up 15% on second
half 2002.
o Sales stable at €10.8bn
o Operating margin improved to 5% (2002 H1 4.5%, H2 3.5%)
Stronger financials
o Strong recovery in free cash flow from operations to €(77)m (2002 H1
€(474)m, 2002 H2 €(537)m)
o Net debt cut by €142m, reducing gearing to 84% (fiscal 2002: 112%)
Commenting on the results Pierre Bilger, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,
said:
"We have made solid progress over the past six months, delivering a healthy
improvement in operating income on broadly maintained sales, with a strong
recovery in net income.
"The resilience of our performance, in a challenging economic environment, is
underlined by the 15 per cent growth in our order intake. As a result, we expect
orders received and sales for the full year to be broadly in line with those of
last year. The positive dynamics of the transport, power retrofit, customer
service and transmission markets should offset less favourable gas turbine,
power plant, distribution and marine markets.
"I am particularly pleased by the marked turnaround in our profitability, with
our operating margin up by a full one-and-a-half percentage points over the
second half of fiscal 2002. This improvement was delivered across all our
Sectors and reflects not only the improved margins in our order intake, as our
business mix improves, but also the benefits that are beginning to flow from
restructuring and overhead reduction. This gives us confidence in delivering a
margin close to 5% in March 2003 and puts us well on track to achieving 6% by
March 2005.
"Even more significant is the strengthening of our financial position. We
generated over €80 million of net cash from operating activities in the first
half, helped by stringent control of working capital across the group. Our net
debt has been cut by more than €140 million, substantially reducing our gearing
from 112% to 84%.
PRESS INFORMATION
"All the initiatives detailed in March in our Restore Value plan have now been
launched and we have already raised €667 million through the capital increase in
July and the subsequent disposal of our South African operations.
"Despite a generally much more difficult economic environment, we remain
confident of achieving the key objectives outlined in the Restore Value plan.
"I have announced elsewhere today that Patrick Kron, a non-executive director of
ALSTOM, is to succeed me in due course as Chairman and CEO. As I prepare to hand
over the leadership of the company to my successor, I do so in the knowledge
that our Restore Value plan is on track and ALSTOM's financial position is
improving."
- ends -
A summary of ALSTOM's MD&A for the six-month period is attached. A full copy of
this document, which takes precedence over this press release, is available on
ALSTOM's website, together with a full set of accounts and notes
(WWW.ALSTOM.COM).
Press enquiries: G. Tourvieille/S. Gagneraud
(Tel. +33 1 47 55 23 15)
internet.press@chq.alstom.com
Investor relations: E. Rocolle-Teyssier
(Tel. +33 1 47 55 25 78)
investor.relations@chq.alstom.com
PRESS INFORMATION
ALSTOM: Summary of MD&A
Summary of results
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Total Group First Half 2nd Half First Half % Var. % Var.
Actual figures Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 Sept.02/ Sept.02/
(in € million) Sept.01 March 02
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Order backlog 36 672 35 815 33 611 -8% -6%
Orders received 13 193 9 493 10 537 -20% 11%
Sales 11 942 11 511 10 769 -10% -6%
Operating income 523 418 543 4% 30%
Operating margin 4.4% 3.6% 5.0%
EBIT 468 19 322 -31% n/a
Capital Employed 7 022 6 688 6 697 -5% 0%
ROCE 13.3% 0.6% 9.6%
Capital expenditures (272) (278) (200) -26% -28%
Free Cash Flow from operations (474) (537) (77) -84% -86%
Net cash flow (331) (100) 394 n/a n/a
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Total Group First Half 2nd Half First Half % Var. % Var.
Comparable basis Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 Sept.02/ Sept.02/
(in € million) Sept.01 March 02
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Order backlog 35 650 34 101 33 611 -6% -1%
Orders received 11 238 9 170 10 537 -6% 15%
Sales 10 509 11 059 10 769 2% -3%
Operating income 472 387 543 15% 40%
Operating margin 4.5% 3.5% 5.0%
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The actual figures for the first and second halves of fiscal 2002 have been
restated using 30 September 2002 exchange rates for order backlog, orders
received, sales and operating income. Adjustments have also been made to order
backlog, orders received, sales and operating income for the first and second
halves of fiscal 2002, to reflect changes in business composition and provide a
basis comparable with the first half of fiscal 2003.
On a comparable basis, orders received increased by 15% in the first half of
fiscal 2003 against the second half of fiscal 2002, with the order backlog and
sales both stable.
Operating income and operating margin both increased compared with the first and
second halves of fiscal 2002, reflecting improved margins in our order backlog,
better control of costs and the first results of the restructuring launched as a
part of Restore Value.
Net income after goodwill amortisation was positive at €11 million for the first
half, compared with a gain of €92 million and a loss of €231 million in the
first and second halves respectively of fiscal 2002.
PRESS INFORMATION
Restore Value
After six months, we have achieved significant progress in implementing our strategic plan "Restore Value".
o Restoring operating margin
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Restore Value target is an operating margin of 6% in March 2005.
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For the first half of fiscal year 2003, the operating margin was 5.0%, compared
with 4.5% and 3.5% respectively for the first and second halves of fiscal 2002.
We are on track to achieve the Restore Value target of an operating margin of 6%
in March 2005. Our order backlog shows an improvement in our business mix, with
an increase in higher-growth and higher-margin activities. We are also on track
to reduce annualised overheads by €250 million by March 2005.
On a comparable basis, all sectors showed an improvement in operating margin
against those of the second half of fiscal 2002, and are in line with the
internal targets established to meet the March 2005 Restore Value targets.
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Operating margin First Half 2nd Half First Half Targets
Comparable basis Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 March 05
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Power 4.3% 4.4% 4.7% 6.0%
T&D 6.0% 6.0% 6.2% 8.0%
Transport 3.9% 0.5% 3.9% 7.0%
Marine 6.9% 0.8% 2.2% 3.0%
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ALSTOM 4.5% 3.5% 5.0% 6.0%
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o Restoring positive cash flow
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Restore Value target is to generate total free cash flow from operations
of €1.3 billion by March 2005.
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Net Cash from operating activities
The net operating cash inflow in the first half was €83 million, compared with
outflows of €238 million and €341 million in the first and second halves
respectively of fiscal 2002.
The €83 million included an exceptional cash outflow of €574 million resulting
from the application of provisions and accrued contract costs on the GT24/26 gas
turbines totalling €398 million, and from a €176 million cash outflow in
customers' deposits and advances which finance work in progress on three Power
contracts and one Transport contract that had previously
PRESS INFORMATION
benefited from exceptional down-payments. Securitisation of existing receivables
fell by €152 million, compared with an increase of €138 million and €2 million
respectively for the first and second halves of fiscal 2002. Underlying free
cash flow for the first half was therefore positive by €809 million.
This improvement is mainly due to continuous action across the ALSTOM Group to
improve the cash profiles of contracts, reduce working capital requirements and
secure a good level of customer deposits and advances.
Free Cash Flow from operations (net cash from operating activities, less capital
expenditure)
Capital expenditure in the first half, net of proceeds from minor disposals of
property, plant and equipment, was €160 million, compared with €236 million and
€196 million for the first and second halves respectively of fiscal 2002.
Free cash flow from operations in the first half was negative by €77 million,
compared with a negative €474 million and a negative €537 million in the first
and second halves respectively of fiscal 2002.
Summary Cash Flow Indicators
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Total Group First Half 2nd Half First Half
Sept.01 March 02 Sept.02
Actual figures
(in € million)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Working Capital movements (470) (450) (325)
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Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (238) (341) 83
Capital expenditure net of proceeds (236) (196) (160)
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Free Cash flow from operations (474) (537 (77)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 357 (234) (347)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (450) 475 658
Net Cash Flow (331) (100) 394
Decrease (increase) in net debt (421) (10) 142
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PRESS INFORMATION
o Restoring balance sheet: one-off proceeds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restore Value target is to generate one-off proceeds of €2.1 billion by March
2003 from real estate sales, non-core disposals and a capital increase.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of the €2.1 billion of one-off proceeds targeted in March 2002, €667
million has already been realised through the capital increase (€617
million) in July and the disposal of our activities in South Africa (€50
million) in September.
Progress has been made on the sale and leaseback of real estate. We received two
offers for the whole portfolio, which met our cash target but were not on
acceptable economic terms. We therefore decided to divide the process into
several separate transactions. The portfolio has been reduced from 70 sites to
55 sites and the estimated proceeds revised from €750 million to €600 million.
Negotiations are in progress and we now expect to realise total proceeds of
approximately €600 million, of which we expect to receive approximately €400
million by March 2003.
We have received firm offers for several non-core businesses. Active sales
negotiations are underway based on the offers received. We expect the total
proceeds realised from non-core business disposals to be approximately €1,000
million before the end of March 2003, compared with our initial estimate of €900
million.
Given the momentum to date, we remain in a position to generate one-off proceeds
of €2.1 billion by March 2003, as announced in Restore Value.
o Restoring balance sheet: net debt and gearing ratio
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Restore Value target is to achieve a gearing ratio of 20% by March 2005, with no
further securitisation of future receivables.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net debt at 30 September 2002 fell by €142 million, significantly reducing
gearing from 112% to 84%. This follows the reclassification as debt of €205
million preferred shares, whose contractual redemption at 31st March 2006 was
triggered by the capital increase in July. Without this reclassification, net
debt at 30 September 2002 would have fallen by €347 million and the gearing
ratio would have been 75%.
Due to the continuing improvement in free cash flow, coupled with one-off
proceeds, we are confident of reaching the targeted gearing of 20% in March 2005
and to close all future receivables programmes.
PRESS INFORMATION
Sector Reviews
o Power
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Power First Half 2nd Half First Half % Var. % Var.
Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 Sept. 02/ Sept. 02/
Sept. 01 March 02
Comparable basis
(in € million)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order backlog 16 191 14 418 13 599 -16% -6%
Orders received 6 298 4 235 5 031 -20% 19%
Sales 6 376 5 998 5 812 -9% -3%
Operating income 275 266 271 -1% 2%
Operating margin 4.3% 4.4% 4.7%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order intake, up 19% on the previous period, was very encouraging in spite of a
generally difficult market environment, especially in gas turbines.
The gas turbine downturn was compensated for by excellent, double-digit, growth
in services and environment, mainly in the US and Europe. Even in the United
States, the most severely affected of the world's power markets, our overall
order intake topped €1.25 billion, principally in service, upgrade and retrofit
of our substantial installed base, providing further evidence of the resilience
of our portfolio.
Update on GT 24/26 Gas Turbine Issues
The improvement programme is on schedule. We have now satisfied contract
requirements or negotiated commercial settlements on over 70% of the units. We
have still to conclude settlements in respect of 22 units (including 7 units
which are the subject of litigation).
We have established provisions to cover the anticipated costs of making
modifications to the turbines and for the additional expenditure not already
covered within contract costs that we expect to incur in reaching settlements
with our customers, including the costs of fulfilling contractual conditions.
Sales of GT 24/26 gas turbines (€430 million) represented approximately 7% of
Power's sales during the first half of fiscal 2003, compared with 14% during the
first half of fiscal 2002. Sales of GT 24/26 gas turbines do not contribute to
the gross margin, which means that Power's operating margin will automatically
improve with the phasing out of these contracts.
PRESS INFORMATION
o T&D
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T&D First Half 2nd Half First Half % Var. % Var.
Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 Sept. 02/ Sept. 02/
Sept. 01 March 02
Comparable basis
(in € million)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order backlog 2 858 2 759 2 960 4% 7%
Orders received 1 969 1 742 2 067 5% 19%
Sales 1 678 1 985 1 778 6% -10%
Operating income 100 119 110 10% -8%
Operating margin 6.0% 6.0% 6.2%
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T&D benefited from continuing growth in Transmission, reflecting ALSTOM's focus
on the expanding systems and solutions market, but faced a more difficult market
in Distribution. Demand in Western Europe was stable, but declined in the USA
mainly due to the energy management market. Despite increased pressure on prices
and adverse exchange rates, overall orders were broadly in line with the same
period last year and sales increased.
o Transport
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Transport First Half 2nd Half First Half % Var. % Var.
Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 Sept. 02/ Sept. 02/
Sept. 01 March 02
Comparable basis
(in € million)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order backlog 13 187 13 944 14 784 12% 6%
Orders received 2 628 2 839 3 300 26% 16%
Sales 1 735 2 321 2 339 35% 1%
Operating income 68 11 90 33% n/a
Operating margin 3.9% 0.4% 3.9%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the first half of fiscal 2003 the rail market continued to experience
sustained growth. In Europe this is being driven by a recovery in expenditure
after the low investment of the 1990s and the urgent need to replace ageing
infrastructure, coupled with increasing ridership, technology-led advances in
signalling and the growing trend towards outsourcing of service. In the USA it
reflects the continuing substantial investment in urban transportation.
PRESS INFORMATION
UK Regional Trains
By the end of September 2002, only 6 of the 119 trains outstanding under our UK
regional trains contracts had yet to be delivered, compared with 29 at 31 March
2002. These 6 trains will be delivered by the end of the current calendar year.
o Marine
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marine First Half 2nd Half First Half % Var. % Var.
Sept. 01 March 02 Sept. 02 Sept. 02/ Sept. 02/
Sept. 01 March 02
Comparable basis
(in € million)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Order backlog 3 323 2 928 2 229 -33% -24%
Orders received 223 240 26 -88% -89%
Sales 606 635 725 20% 14%
Operating income 42 5 16 -62% 220%
Operating margin 6.9% 0.8% 2.2%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The recovery of the cruise holiday market in the wake of 11 September is now
well established. However, the cruise-ship market has been impacted since April
2002 by the weakness of the US dollar against the euro, as ship-owners (whose
reference currency is the dollar) postpone orders. The market has also stalled
in the last few months pending the outcome of takeover and merger discussions
involving the three major cruise ship owners, which together account for the
bulk of new-build orders. Notwithstanding these issues, we continue to see
strong underlying interest in cruise-ships.
PRESS INFORMATION
Geographical Analysis
The geographical distribution of orders and sales was broadly unchanged against
the first half of fiscal 2002.
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Total Group Orders Received Sales
Comparable basis
First Half First Half First Half First Half
Sept. 01 Sept. 02 Sept. 01 Sept. 02
(in € million)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
France 1 474 1 116 682 942
United Kingdom 585 741 594 801
Germany 618 680 495 517
Other EU countries 1 107 2 111 1 666 1 310
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total European Union 3 784 4 648 3 437 3 570
Rest of Europe 765 532 604 732
US 2 277 1 864 2 073 2 215
Others NA countries 444 274 845 458
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total North America 2 721 2 138 2 918 2 673
South and Central America 939 603 408 775
Asia / Pacific 2 042 1 638 2 184 1 833
Middle East / Africa 987 978 958 1 185
Total Group 11 238 10 537 10 509 10 769
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Vendor Financing
In the past we provided certain financial assistance to institutions which
finance some of our customers and also, in some cases, directly to our customers
for their purchases of our products. We refer to this financial assistance as
"vendor financing". It is no longer our policy to provide such vendor financing
guarantees.
Vendor financing totalled €1,381 million at 30 September 2002, compared with
€1,493 million at 31 March 2002.
A detailed analysis of the Company's vendor financing exposure and related
provisions can be found in note 16 of the Consolidated Financial Statements and
in the full text of the MD&A.
PRESS INFORMATION
Contract Guarantees
External contract guarantees totalled €10,289 million at 30 September 2002,
compared with €11,535 million at 31 March 2002 and €10,825 million at 30
September 2001. They have an average maturity of three years.
We have observed a general contraction of the market for such guarantees as some
banks and insurance companies are reducing their capacity in this activity. This
contraction has the effect of reducing our customers' expectations, which
explains the decrease in our accounts since September 2002 despite an increase
in orders received. We are examining with our core bankers ways to ensure that
alternative bonding capacity is available for our requirements.
A comprehensive summary of ALSTOM's outstanding contract guarantees can be found
in note 15a of the Consolidated Financial Statements and in the full text of the
MD&A.
Asbestos
The Company believes it has no material liability in respect of current asbestos
personal injury cases. (See notes 6 & 17 of the Consolidated Financial
Statements and the full text of the MD&A).
In France such liabilities are covered by the social security and
publicly-funded systems. In the USA, the businesses purchased from ABB are
covered by an ABB indemnity. For our other US businesses, we believe our current
liability is not material and we consider we have good defences to the cases
filed against us. We have made no compensation payments.
Outlook
The resilience of our first-half performance, in a challenging economic
environment, is underlined by the 15 per cent growth in our order intake. As a
result, we expect orders received and sales for the full year to be broadly in
line with those of last year. The positive dynamics of the transport, power
retrofit, customer service and transmission markets should offset less
favourable gas turbine, power plant, distribution and marine markets.
Improved profitability was delivered across all our sectors in the first half
and reflects not only the improved margins in our order intake, as our business
mix improves, but also the benefits that are beginning to flow from
restructuring and overhead reduction. This gives us confidence in delivering a
margin close to 5% in March 2003 and puts us well on track to achieving 6% by
March 2005.
PRESS INFORMATION
Despite a generally much more difficult economic environment, we remain
confident of achieving the key objectives outlined in the Restore Value plan.
* * *
Forward-Looking Statements:
This Press Release contains, and other written or oral reports and
communications of ALSTOM may from time to time contain, forward-looking
statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Examples of such
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections or
expectations of sales, income, operating margins, dividends, provisions, cash
flow, debt or other financial items or ratios, (ii) statements of plans,
objectives or goals of ALSTOM or its management, (iii) statements of future
product or economic performance, and (iv) statements of assumptions underlying
such statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends,"
"aims," "plans" and "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such
statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent
risks and uncertainties that the forecasts, projections and other
forward-looking statements will not be achieved. Such statements are based on
management's current plans and expectations and are subject to a number of
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
plans, objectives and expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements.
These factors include (i) the inherent difficulty of forecasting future market
conditions, level of infrastructure spending, GDP growth generally, interest
rates and exchange rates; (ii) the effects of, and changes in, laws,
regulations, governmental policy, taxation or accounting standards or practices;
(iii) the effects of competition in the product markets and geographic areas in
which ALSTOM operates; (iv) the ability to increase market share and control
costs while maintaining high quality products and services; (v) the timely
development of new products and services; (vi) the inherent technical complexity
of many of ALSTOM's products and technologies and the ability to resolve
effectively and at reasonable cost technical problems that inevitably arise,
including in particular the problems encountered with the GT24/26 gas turbines;
(vii) risks inherent in large contracts that comprise a substantial portion of
ALSTOM's business; (viii) the effects of acquisitions and disposals; (ix) the
ability to invest in successfully, and compete at the leading edge of,
technology developments across all of ALSTOM's Sectors; (x) the availability of
adequate cash flow from operations or other sources of liquidity to achieve
management's objectives or goals, including our goal of reducing indebtedness;
(xi) timing of completion of the actions focused on cash generation contemplated
in ALSTOM's "Restore Value" programme; (xii) the inherent difficulty in
estimating future charter or sale prices of any relevant cruise-ship in any
appraisal of the exposure in respect of the Renaissance matter; (xiii) the
inherent difficulty in estimating ALSTOM's exposure to vendor financing which
may notably be affected by customers' payment default; (xiv) the unusual level
of uncertainty at this time regarding the world economy in general; and (xv)
ALSTOM's success at adjusting to and managing the risks of the foregoing. ALSTOM
cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive; when
relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to ALSTOM,
investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other
uncertainties and events, as well as other factors described in other documents
ALSTOM files from time to time with the Commission des Opérations de
Bourse and with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including reports on
Form 6-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are
made, and ALSTOM undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
ALSTOM
Date: November 7, 2002 By: /s/ Philippe Jaffré
-----------------------------------
Name: Philippe Jaffré
Title: Chief Financial Officer