In the 2008 financial year, our strategy continued to be geared towards earnings-based growth, although there was a significant deterioration in the economic situation especially in the fourth quarter. Group sales increased by 2.9 percent to EUR 12.663bn (2007: EUR 12.306bn). Group operating profit rose at a faster rate than sales, by 5.4 percent to EUR 2.555bn (2007: EUR 2.424bn).