Saft Batteries announced the Q1 2008 sales of €149.9 million were up 2.7% compared with the Q1 2007. The Industrial Battery Group (IBG) saw strong sales growth in Q1 2008 of 16.2% at constant exchange rates. The main growth drivers during the quarter were the industrial standby power and telecom network markets. During Q1 2007, the Division was progressively increasing output of telecom batteries to meet the needs of AT&T, whilst in Q1 2008 the facilities were operating at high levels of output throughout the quarter. A number of important successes were announced during the first quarter including the award of the Airbus A350 XWB Li-ion battery contract.

The Specialty Battery Group (SBG) sales was similar to that seen in 2007. Sales growth of 1.6% at constant exchange rates was satisfactory, considering the Division entered 2008 with a low order backlog for military lithium batteries. An important number of contracts, most notably a multi-year contract with the US Army should be awarded during the coming months. In contrast, the civil market remained strong with growth in both the lithium and satellite markets. Saft was especially pleased to announce the recent award by BAe Systems of the next phase of the development of military HEV batteries, part of the Future Combat System programme in the US.

Rechargeable Battery Systems saw sales growth in Q1 2008 of 1.4% at constant exchange rates. This growth, ahead of management expectations, was supported by price increases averaging 3% effective from the beginning of January. The emergency lighting market remained challenging with lower market demand but the other activities, most notably our Professional Electronics segment, saw growing sales volumes.