Earnings per Share

In the reporting period, the undiluted earnings per share (EPS) amounted to 2.14 euros, i.e. 11.1 per cent over the prior year (1.93 euros). The EPS were calculated on the basis of an average of 21,164,950 shares in circulation in 2008. The shares purchased by the company under the share buy-back programme were not taken into consideration in the EPS calculation and were deducted on a daily basis.

KEY FIGURES

        2008   2007
Shares with dividend entitlement 1   quantity   20,990,500   21,200,000
Earnings per share   euros   2.14   1.93
Amount distributed 1   million euros   12.6 2   12.7
Cash dividend   euro   0.60 2   0.60
Dividend yield 1   %   4.4   2.2
Price/earnings ratio 1       6.4   14.2
1 As of 31 December
2 Subject to approval of the Annual General Meeting