In fact, from 2001-2005 we had a higher than average performance compared to our main North American competitors on most of the major financial indicators. And that’s our game plan: to create long-term value for our employees, customers and shareholders. To do better than the industry average over long periods of time.

Is it going to continue? My answer is yes. Which leads me now to talk to you about the new economic environment and what we’re doing to stay a winner.

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The most striking phenomenon we’ve had to deal with in recent years has been the exchange rate, the sharp increase in the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar. Just to keep our profitability at the same level we’ve had to continually improve our productivity.

We also developed an excellent hedging program to reduce the impact of the fluctuations.

Even when our dollar was lower, we invested, year in and year out, in our property, plant and equipment. Over the past five years we have spent more than 6% of our revenues in capital expenditures, when the average for our main competitors was less than 4%. Fiscal 2005 was no exception and these investments are now strengthening our position in our strategic niches while countering some of the negative impacts of the exchange rate. This ambitious investment program will be continued in 2006.

With the same objectives in mind, we have also invested in training to instill the culture of continuous improvement company-wide. The many Kaizen workshops aimed at improving our efficiency are only the tip of the iceberg.

Luc and Benoît will talk to you about all that in more detail shortly.

I’d like to draw your attention to the positive side of the higher Canadian/US dollar exchange rate, which is that making acquisitions or buying equipment in the United States is more affordable for us. Traditionally, we have served the U.S. market from our Canadian facilities. This we will continue to do, but we plan to develop a greater physical presence in the United States, as we have done in direct marketing, where we are one of the biggest suppliers of products and services. We’ll focus on other niches where we have a competitive edge, such as outsourced newspaper printing or the short-run printing of books and catalogues. Our financial base is strong enough for us to do it.

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There has been a lot of talk lately of the new emerging economies, such as China. Once again, there is nothing new in this. Ever since Transcontinental was founded North American companies have faced a series of emerging economies. You all remember Japan and Mexico. We had to adjust by becoming more efficient and specializing more in our niches.

Let me return to China. It seemed that the threat to us would not be very big because a large part of our printing products and services are very time-sensitive and have tight delivery deadlines. I’m thinking in particular of newspaper and flyer printing, and of other retailer products, and everything related to direct marketing. As for our media activities, which have grown quickly in recent years and now account for a quarter of our revenues, they are, for obvious reasons, not affected by this type of competition.

But I wanted to find out more. I’ve just come back from a trip to China with two of our senior managers. We visited a dozen printing plants in several large cities and talked with their managers as well as their European or North American suppliers. We learned that the competition from China will indeed be stronger, especially in the printing of certain types of books. Salaries there are much lower and they are quickly modernizing their equipment.

What are our assets?

Our first asset is our on-going investment in the latest technologies and becoming more efficient. Plus, we are continuing our targeted growth strategy, which aims at being the best in each of our niches. For example, in catalogue and book printing, we’ve specialized in short and medium runs. Our business model is focused on building customer loyalty by continually creating value-added services, which gives us another competitive advantage at the international level. Lastly, in the next few years we’ll continue to emphasize the innovative talents of our people and organic growth.

It is in this targeted and prudent way that we are investing the money of our shareholders and will continue to differentiate ourselves.

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The technology environment is changing fast. I’m thinking in particular of the way the Internet and digital media are affecting not only our workplaces, but also consumer behaviour. This will have an impact on our readerships and printing activities. In a few minutes Luc will explain the priority issues being addressed in our new business project, Evolution 2010, which will give us the tools to prosper in this new reality. We’ll be accentuating our personalization services and the shift to digital technology, particularly in the Media sector. We’ll also be building on the power of our top magazines to draw in specific communities of interest and on the presence of our local and regional newspapers in Canada’s geographic communities.

In this new environment we have a unique asset, built patiently through our daily contacts with employees, customers and shareholders over the past 30 years. I’m talking about business credibility. It is through our culture of trust and openness that we have been able to build our outsourcing model in newspaper printing, premedia and custom publishing. This is an area that offers unique opportunities for growth.

Today, Transcontinental is considered a real business partner by major North American companies such as Power Corporation (through Gesca and La Presse), The New York Times, Thomson, Yellow Pages Group, BCE, American Express, and so forth. We will continue to develop these major strategic partnerships, especially in the United States, where we are becoming more widely known because of our direct marketing and newspaper printing activities. Currently, we are negotiating a strategic alliance with a major American magazine publisher. You’ll see the first results of our efforts over the course of this year.

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Transcontinental will continue to evolve in the years ahead. The needs of our customers and the habits of consumers are changing, the industry dynamic is changing and I am convinced that we have the business culture and business plan to keep us among the winners.

I’ll now give the mike over to Luc Desjardins, our president and chief executive officer, and I thank you for your attention.