Paris, France – Strong commercial successes – Increase of full year guidance on orders:

• Orders received: €12.9 billion, up 6% versus the first nine months 2004/05, on a comparable basis
• Sales: €10.2 billion, up 10% on a comparable basis
• Full year guidance on orders received revised from a stable level to a 5% increase (on a comparable basis)

”Numerous commercial successes were recorded during the last quarter (Sept – Dec 2005), notably in the Power Sectors. A very high level of order intake amounting to €5.4 billion (or €4.3 billion without Marine) was registered, with more than €2 billion for Power Turbo-Systems / Power Environment alone, compared to €3.8 billion for the same period of last year. This leads us to review upwards our guidance on orders for the full year from an anticipated stability versus last year to an estimated increase of 5% on a comparable basis. Sales at €3.3 billion are in line with our anticipations and we confirm our year end guidance of a more than 7% increase on a comparable basis”, said Patrick Kron, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of ALSTOM.

Currency & Scope impacts

Orders and sales, as reported, were impacted during the first nine months of fiscal year 2005/06 by a positive currency translation effect (approximately 2% on orders and sales). But figures reported were negatively impacted by the disposals which have occurred during the last two years (locomotives in Spain, Transport activities in Australia/New Zealand, FlowSystems, Power Conversion and other minor activities).
The reported figures by Sector are presented in appendix 1. The comparable figures (see appendix 2) adjust the reported figures for these two effects. A geographic breakdown of reported orders and sales is given in appendix 3. Last year’s reported and comparable numbers have been restated under IFRS GAAP.

Orders received: €12.9 billion

Orders registered in Q3 2005/06 were at an exceptionally high level, at €5.4 billion, as a result of the booking of a large number of gas turbine projects as well as some related Operation and Maintenance contracts and a €1.1 billion order for two cruise ships.

For the first nine months of fiscal year 2005/06, Power Turbo-Systems / Power Environment and Power Service recorded a strong increase in their orders received, while Transport was slightly down from a high level last year.

The total backlog increased at around €29 billion, equivalent to approximately 25 months of sales.

Sales: €10.2 billion

Sales recorded in Q3 are up 5% as compared to the same period of last year, in line with expectations.

Sales for the first nine months of fiscal year 2005/06 were up 10% compared with the same period of the previous year. This reflects an increase in Power Turbo-Systems / Power Environment, Power Service and Transport sales, partly offset by the expected lower sales in Marine.

Sector Reviews

Transport

Orders in Q3 2005/06 amounted to €1.2 billion. The main orders registered included rolling stocks for the Paris metro in France, regional trains in Germany and a signalling contract (ERTMS) in Italy.

For the first nine months of 2005/06, orders decreased by 5% as compared to the same period of last year. By geographical zone, the strongest decrease came from Asia where a major contract of €600 million was recorded in Q3 last year in China. Europe remains the Sector’s largest market with two thirds of total orders.

Sales for the first nine months of 2005/06 increased by 3% as compared to the first nine months of 2004/05.

Power Turbo-Systems / Power Environment

For the first nine months of 2005/06, order intake increased by 16% as compared to the same period of last year. The third quarter was particularly strong (€2.1 billion), with the booking of several major orders: a coal power plant in Germany, turnkey contracts including twelve GT13 gas turbines in Argentina, Oman, Nigeria and Australia and one GT26 combined cycle power plant in Spain as well as a contract for environmental control systems in the UK.

For the first nine months of the year, the level of sales strongly increased (+28%), following the rebound of orders last year.

Power Service

For the first nine months of 2005/06, orders remained sound, with an increase of 12% versus the same period of the previous year, confirming the continued growth of the market and ALSTOM’s favourable position. The main projects registered in Q3 included Operation and Maintenance contracts related to the gas turbine orders in Nigeria, Spain and Oman, as well as the service part of the environmental control system order in the UK.

Sales for the first nine months of 2005/06 showed an increase of 4%.

Marine

As previously indicated, an order for two cruise ships for MSC was booked in Q3 2005/06. The sales figure was weak, with no significant delivery during the period.

Outlook

Following this positive third quarter, we expect orders for the full year 2005/06 to be up 5%, on a comparable basis versus last year and we confirm our guidance on sales for a more than 7% increase on a comparable basis.