* The average number of shares issued was 19,438,287 for 2008. The year 2008, during which the repercussions of the banking and financial crisis weighed heavily on the performance of the stock market and the global economy, will go down in history as one of the toughest years ever for shareholders. Share Details WKN / ISIN A0MU70 / LU0307018795 Stock exchange code SFQ Number of shares 20,702,275 Average trading volume per day in 2008 (in units) 32,913 Designated sponsor HSBC and Morgan Stanley Highest/lowest price for the year EUR 14.19/ EUR 1.14 Earnings per share* EUR 0.69 Although the German benchmark index DAX was able to crack the 4,800 threshold on December 31, 2008, it had to absorb a loss of 40% for the year as a whole. The SDAX re- corded similar losses. Bad news influenced international stock market performance from the very beginning of the year. As early as January, the real estate lender Hypo Real Estate troubled the market with unexpectedly high write-downs. This development was followed by news of risky transactions at Societé Générale. Later, the US Federal Reserve lowered the prime rate in order to slow down the slide in equity markets around the world ­ in vain. In July, soaring oil prices shocked the global markets, and at the same time, record levels for the Euro made headlines and spurred fears regarding the possible impact on European exports. In September, the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers investment bank had a devastating effect on the financial sector and the stock market performance. This led to a spiral of additional catastrophe reports from the banking sector and fear-driven capitulation selling: institutional investors bailed out of risky securities and private investors unloaded their mutual fund shares on a large scale. As a result, the crisis spilled over into the real economy. By the end of the year, legitimate recession fears cast a pall on economic reports. All of these developments placed increasing pressure on the value of the SAF-HOLLAND share in 2008. After ending the previous year at a price of EUR 13.75, our share reached its high for the year of EUR 14.19 as early as January 2. As a result of market conditions, the share declined to EUR 9.25 in March. In May, it went on to achieve an interim high of 02 >> SAF-HOLLAND 26 >> Management Report 60 >> Financial Statements 144 >> Additional Information Annual Stock Market Performance in the Wake of the Financial Crisis 18 The Share >> 18­19