Company Report

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends of our Company,

As you will gather from our 13th company report, we have significantly expanded our business. We have increased turnover by 12 % to EUR 935 million. At the same time, we have improved profitability before tax by 30 % to EUR 13 million. Our equity only rose by EUR 2 million as a result of balance sheet effects, however HOYER is thus taking full advantage of the present global economic growth cycle. Nevertheless, we should not allow this success to make us overconfident.

In common with the main economic institutes, the chemical industry - which remains our main customer - expects the economy to slow in the second half of 2008. In view of the good results of recent years and the cyclical nature of this industry, this should not come as a surprise. We must be prepared.

In addition to establishing an efficient cost management system in all operational areas, reviewing our strategic goals will be a key task for our management and advisory board in 2008. An excessive number of business activities results in high complexity, and this always results in high costs - and the market does not allow excessively high costs. In any case, expanding our business activities to cover every continent would overstretch the financial resources of a family business.

Of course, it is good that we are involved in markets that seem to offer practically unlimited growth prospects. This is why we have to be selective and prioritise with care. This will be our most important task for the coming year, which does not of course mean that we will neglect our day-to-day business or our close communication with customers, suppliers, employees, works councils and drivers. We have carried out most of the portfolio changes to our business units that we considered necessary. We sold off the German tank storage business and the silo transport business, as these did not complement our core business. Together with the other shareholders, we also initiated the sale of the rail4chem railway company, which will be concluded in 2008. Conversely, we have carried out a number of smaller corporate acquisitions in the gas industry and overseas.

Our latest strategy discussion in the spring of 2008 concluded that the HOYER Group should continue on its growth trajectory in line with corporate strategy. Business units which fail to achieve a return on capital employed (ROCE) of over 10 % will be placed under close supervision. I believe that we will have dealt with every important strategic question by the beginning of 2009.

Although HOYER is primarily a transport company, we constantly strive to extend the value chain "beyond the factory gate". Here, we achieved further success when our Supply Chain Solutions business division signed up two major producers of chemical products. Projects like these will bring us closer to our customers and also result in a considerable increase in personnel numbers.

During the recent presentation of the German Logistics Association (BVL) logistics award, the head of logistics for Claas, a family-owned farm machinery manufacturer, pointed out how important it is for customers to have access to a comprehensive range of logistics services. He said that his professional success was based on working with a limited number of logistics partners, as this allowed for the develop - ment of a supply chain model that was efficient and cost-effective for all parties. I share this view and hope that it will also find resonance amongst our customers, as "shopping around" is now very much a thing of the past.

I always find it gratifying to see our staff numbers rising - and 2007 was no exception. HOYER employed exactly 607 more people at the end of 2007 than it did a year earlier. Indeed, this increase is equivalent to the total number of people employed by HOYER in 1980 when I officially started work for the company at its new office in New York.

Our budget for 2008 and our investment plans for next year fully reflect our confidence in the future of this family-owned business. I was able to express this confidence last autumn at a business seminar held in Berlin by the Deutsche Bank when I took part in a podium discussion with Dr. Patrick Adenauer, the president of the German Family Business Association. Our family constitution, which has now been taken up by many other family businesses, will help us to successfully manage the business in years to come. Our constitution also provides a system of coordinates for the shareholders, the advisory board, the employees and the Group’s partners.

Turning now to the figures, I expect our turnover to reach approximately EUR 950 million for 2008, and EBT to reach EUR 20 million. I also expect EBIT to rise to EUR 33 million and EBITDA to EUR 69 million. Our investments will be reduced to EUR 51 million compared to the previous year.

The respect that HOYER enjoys both as a family enterprise and as a brand in the markets in which we operate on a daily basis gives us a sense of pride and confidence, and yet it also makes us very aware of the responsibilities that we bear.

I look forward to moving forward with you all along our chosen path.

With kind regards from Hamburg,

Thomas Hoyer