| Nexans, France, has recently announced sales of � 1,091 million for the first quarter of 2004. At constant non-ferrous metals prices and exchange rates, sales totalled � 951 million, up from � 914 million for the first quarter of 2003 (representing a growth of 3.9%). The strong growth of sales in North America and Asia, coupled with the sales reported by the recently acquired Kukdong, South Korea, and Furukawa, Brazil, managed to offset weak markets in Europe, especially France. The first quarter 2004 was marked by a sharp rise in the price of non-ferrous metals, especially copper, for which the average price jumped by 37% compared with the first quarter of 2003. The resulting adverse impact on the Group�s debt is evaluated to be approximately 70 million Euros. It also affects the operating profits of the building business cables activity, for which it takes longer to pass on the rising costs of raw materials in the sales prices.
A business-by-business analysis shows continued growth in energy. Despite weak demand for low and medium-voltage cables in France and Germany, the cable market for infrastructure continued to expand. Demand for cables for the building business was buoyed by the North American market, while competitive pressures continued to weigh on prices in Germany and France. Regarding to telecom cables, Nexans confirmed that the infrastructure business continued to suffer from the stagnation of demand in emerging countries. Cables for industry grew slightly, driven by the development of ADSL (high-speed Internet) networks and cables for the aerospace industry. In North America, sales in the private local area networks were boosted by the recovery of demand for LAN copper and fibre optic cables. Furthermore, the development of Nexans� wire rod activities is satisfactory. The winding wire activities begin to reap the benefits of the restructuring carried-out in North America in 2003.
Globally, sales growth during the first quarter reflects a sharp increase in sales volume in North America (+9.5% on a comparable consolidation scope), Asia (+13%) and the Rest of the world (+17%). This rise offsets low levels of activity in Europe (especially in France), due to the stagnation of industrial investment and the weakness of demand for telecom infrastructure cables.
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