During fiscal period 1999 we witnessed the most overwhelming fall in metallic prices seen over the past decades. In fact, the average price for our products - the briquettes produced by Venprecar and Operaciones RDI- fell 28% compared to the preceding year. This reduction reflects a similar performance in the market for other raw materials used in the steel industry, such as scrap and pig iron. Also, Venprecar's production was 624,000 MT, 9% below the 1998 fiscal period. This decrease was attributable to the shutdown of the Venprecar plant for expansion and maintenance, to the market constraints that were evident at the start of the fiscal year and to the readjustment of operating parameters after the expansion. As a consequence of these operating and market circumstances, International Briquettes Holding (IBH), reported consolidated sales for fiscal year 1999 of US$ 52.5 million, a 37% decrease compared to last year's sales of US$ 83,5 millions. The company's operating loss was US$ 16 million and the net loss was US$ 15 millions. The lowest price for our briquettes was reached in December 1998. After that, price behavior was erratic until March, and in April, it began a slow though firm recovery. We expect the price of briquettes to return to the 1997 levels in the near to mid term. After the shutdown to increase plant capacity from 715,000 MT/year to 815,000 MT/year , through an investment of US$ 8 million, Venprecar re-started operations during the first week in January 1999. Production for the fiscal year was 624,000 MT and sales were 570,000 MT. Of this total, 93% was directed to the export market and the balance was sold domestically. Regarding production costs, apart from the 7% reduction in the cost of iron-ore, the cost per-metric-ton for Venprecar HBI was lowered 6.57% due mainly to a decrease in manufacturing overhead. In addition, Venprecar's net working capital was reduced from the equivalent of 74 days of sales to 54 days. Separately, an important improvement in the physical quality of Venprecar's briquettes was achieved, reducing the percentage of chips generated from 12% to 7% during the current fiscal year The former Fior plant, now called Operaciones RDI, had production of 360,000 MT and sales of 343,000 MT, of which 97% was for the export market. A new cyclone design was successfully tested in the reactors of the Operaciones RDI plant. This design, developed by Orinoco Iron, reduces the clumping of mineral fines inside the reactor, thus decreasing the duration of the plant's annual shutdown for maintenance. The joint venture with The Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) to build a direct reduction FINMET® plant with 2.2 million metric-tons-per-year capacity reached 88% of completion on September 30. A slight delay of 2% with respect to the original construction schedule was caused by adverse weather and labor-related problems with some contractors during the fiscal year. The most important milestones reached during the fiscal year ended September 30, 1999 were: completed erection of the reactors for Module 1, completion of the Natural Gas Substation, installation of the Reformer for Module 1 and availability of electric energy. As of today, equipment tests have been carried out in the common service area and in the mineral receiving system with satisfactory results. The estimated start-up date for the plant's first module is March-April 2000. Orinoco Iron is the largest private investment ever made in Venezuela outside of the petroleum industry. It is based on the FINMET® technology, which uses iron-ore fines as a raw material. Other direct reduction technologies (Midrex and HyL) use pellets and lumps instead. The advantage of FINMET® over other technologies is that production costs are lower because the process of pelletizing the fines is not necessary Between October 1998 and September 1999, thirteen Venezuelan experts provided technical assistance for the start-up of the FINMET® plant built by The Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) in Port Hedland, Australia. This consultancy was contemplated in the Brifer technology agreement. Brifer is part of the joint venture between IBH and BHP and holds the intellectual property rights associated with the FIOR® and FINMET® technologies. The Board of Directors of International Briquettes Holding (IBH) designated Mr. Neil Malloy Director of the IBH Division. In exercising these functions, Mr. Malloy will contribute his vision as a business and financial strategist in the direct management of Venprecar and in representing IBH in the joint venture with BHP. Neil Malloy has worked for over 22 years in Sivensa and currently holds the position of General Corporate Director. This has been IBH's most difficult year since its inception. However, our management has improved the operating efficiency and has held a steady course as the market crisis works itself out. The permanent reduction of costs and real expenses, the repeated attainment of the Norven certification by Venprecar and Operaciones RDI, as well as Venprecar's accomplishment of the Interamerican Security Council prize for reducing disabling injuries are important achievements that our people have reached. And all this, thanks to their sense of responsibility and commitment to the organization's objectives.