The reconciliation from the operating result to net income is characterized by one-off charges. These were predominantly related to discontinued operations (American Water). Furthermore, we had lower capital gains compared with 2007. In addition, the consequences of the financial market crisis affected asset management. The drop in the effective tax rate had a positive impact.

Our continuing operations generated income before tax amounting to €4,866 million, 7 % less than in 2007.

The effective tax rate was down eleven percentage points to 29 %. This is mainly due to the fact that German income tax rates were cut as part of the 2008 German corporate tax reform. Furthermore, we successfully concluded tax litigation cases in the UK and Germany.

Income from continuing operations after tax improved by 9 % to €3,443 million. The RWE Group’s discontinued operations (American Water) closed the period with a loss of €567 million, which was largely caused by the IPO of American Water. When we floated 39.5 % of the shares in the US water utility, we recognized an impairment loss and wrote down the value of our remaining stake in the company accordingly.

The minority interest totalled €318 million, substantially more than in fiscal 2007. Some of the companies in which entities outside the RWE Group hold a minority stake posted considerable rises in income. This holds true for RWE Energy’s regional companies, among others. In addition, the minority interest in American Water is subsumed under this item.

The RWE Group’s net income declined by 4 % to €2,558 million. At €4.75, our earnings per share were essentially unchanged. The number of RWE shares outstanding decreased as a result of the share buyback programme concluded in May. There was an average of 538.4 million shares outstanding in the year under review, compared with 562.4 million a year earlier.