Winners European Summit

The award winners of "Best of European Business" are:

German car-maker AUDI took home top honors in the automotive segment. The jury praised the company's strong position in core markets and its focus on design and quality.

In the Fast Moving Consumer Goods/Retail industry segment, ESPRIT was awarded the BEB prize for successful expansion strategy into new markets with highly profitable growth. Its highly innovative, efficient business model was highlighted by the judges as a key element of their verdict. ESPRIT was lauded for its "youthful and dynamic" global brand image, with clothes that sold at "democratic" prices.

The Financial Services award was presented to UBS, which won over the jury with its strong asset growth and value orientation. Jury members also praised its organic growth strategy, combining selected smaller acquisitions to complete the business portfolio. Its focus on expansion in the Asia-Pacific region to boost its international presence was also highlighted as a deciding factor by members of the jury.

Arcelor was pronounced the winner in the industrials category, based on its planned external growth strategy. The jury was impressed by Arcelor's commercial policy and its innovative steel solutions, both strong pillars of a planned expansion.

Internationalization as a engine for strong growth was a key reason for the jury's choice of Statoil as a winner in the Oil/Gas category. The company's plans for greater expansion into a new EU Member State, Poland, were seen as favorable by the judges. They noted that among its competitors in the category, Statoil had "the best balance in terms of growth, size, value creation combined with strong ethical commitment."

BASF Europe President, Dr. Walter Seufert, accepted the award in the Pharma/Chemicals category for his company's outstanding performance in all of its business segments. The jury was impressed by BASF's balanced product portfolio, which includes chemicals, oil and gas – the latter two with excellent profitability. In Europe and North America, the company has established an optimized cost position to enhance its competitiveness, which was of particular importance to the jury.

Spanish Telecommunications giant Telefónica received the award in the telecommunications/media category. The jury lauded its strong presence in growing markets and its aggressive investment strategy in Europe. Among rivals in the category, Telefónica had "the best balance between growth and profitability," according to the members of the jury.

In the eyes of the jury, A.P. Møller - Maersk's success in the transportation/tourism/logistics category can be attributed to its business focus and successful acquisitions in the recent past. In 2005, the company launched a strong growth strategy, without losing its focus on core business, such as container shipping, oil and gas production and ports.

RWE was a convincing contender for the Best of European Business award in the utilities category because of its strategy of targeting strong regions such as Germany, the UK, Netherlands and Central and Eastern Europe, where it has cemented its cost leadership role, while reducing its net debt. The jury explicitly praised RWE's CEE strategy and its courage to re-examine its portfolio.