Although we have seen unprecedented economic volatility over the past year, the underlying global demand for energy infrastructure remains strong and the fundamental principles in our business have not changed. We have a healthy backlog, premier technical capabilities, loyal customers and a strong global reputation for quality and integrity.

CB&I's strength is reflected in our numbers. Our year-end 2008 backlog was $5.7 billion, which includes a broad diversity of projects across the entire energy spectrum and throughout our global markets. Despite the global economic turmoil, we have not experienced any material cancellations from our backlog and we are seeing encouraging signs from most of our major customers that capital expenditures will continue at a reasonable rate.

CB&I's strength is reflected in our numbers. Our year-end 2008 backlog was $5.7 billion, which includes a broad diversity of projects across the entire energy spectrum and throughout our global markets. Despite the global economic turmoil, we have not experienced any material cancellations from our backlog and we are seeing encouraging signs from most of our major customers that capital expenditures will continue at a reasonable rate.

2008 new awards were $4.3 billion. The key variable in new awards has been their unpredictable timing. Although we have seen a softening of the refining market, particularly in the U.S., other markets and regions are proving resilient and we are seeing a steady pace of inquiries about potential projects. CB&I has a tremendous international portfolio with more than 50% of our work performed outside of the U.S. The majority of our customers are international and national oil companies that fund projects from their balance sheets and are not overly reliant on credit markets for project funding. For projects that have slipped from 2008 to 2009, many of our clients appear to be looking for economic stability and optimum pricing leverage before awarding contracts, which makes us optimistic that these projects will be awarded when materials and commodity prices stabilize.

We reported a net loss of $21.1 million for the year, which reflects the significant challenges and additional project costs we incurred on two LNG terminals in the U.K. One of these projects is now commissioned, the other is awaiting first gas. While the performance on these projects can't be overlooked, we believe it is important to focus on the strong results from the remainder of our backlog. Excluding the two U.K. project charges, 2008 operating income exceeded 11% of revenue.

In the U.S., Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast in September, temporarily closing 17 CB&I facilities. We would like to thank our disaster recovery team, which worked around the clock to quickly bring our offices, shops and project sites back online. Only the Golden Pass LNG project suffered major damage, which has delayed its completion. We continue to work closely with the client on remediation efforts and schedule revisions. CB&I's overall financial impact from the hurricane has been minimal.

The numbers we are especially proud to report are those associated with our safety performance. We worked more than 89 million hours in 2008 with a lost-time incident rate of 0.04, compared with a 0.07 rate on 54 million hours in 2007. This achievement is outstanding by any measure and certainly one of the best safety records in the industry. There is no greater obligation or any issue more important than the health and safety of our workers. Our rigorous safety standards and our comprehensive training programs have helped to improve our safety record, but above all we attribute this outstanding performance to our workforce, which has made safety a priority every day, whether working at a desk or welding at the top of a 50-meter tank.

In 2008, CB&I resolved a seven-year legal matter with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission by divesting certain assets to Matrix Service Company. We are glad to put the issue behind us with no material impact to the company.

Looking ahead through 2009 and beyond, our global market for Steel Plate Structures remains solid in several regions. New clean-fuel regulations worldwide have resulted in more blended products and specialty fuels, which require additional storage tanks. We believe that the market for water and wastewater projects in the U.S. will be buoyed by significant investments to build and upgrade water infrastructure as part of the federal stimulus package, and we will pursue these opportunities aggressively.

Although the markets for oil sands projects in Canada and refinery expansions in the U.S. have temporarily slowed, we see emerging opportunities globally, including clean-fuel, alternative energy and nuclear energy projects. CB&I has built 75% of the containment vessels for nuclear plants currently operating in the U.S., and we will capitalize on this strong market position to play an active role in meeting the increasing demand for nuclear power. In 2008, we were awarded more than $300 million in contracts to provide containment vessels for the first new nuclear power plants targeted for construction in the U.S.

The Lummus acquisition places CB&I in the top tier of global contractors and gives us the unique capability to meet energy clients' needs across the full technology, EPC and project services spectrum. Lummus Technology reported a 2008 operating profit margin of 25% and continues to generate recurring revenue streams, which is helping to offset the cyclicality of the market. In addition, Lummus Technology provides us greater visibility into projects at a much earlier stage, which gives us unique insight into trends and changing conditions. We have had several projects where technology contracts have translated into EPC work and one project where our EPC relationship has resulted in a new award for process technology.

As a result of several strategic acquisitions, we have reached a growth threshold that prompted us to make a structural change from a regional focus to a more global approach based on our technical expertise and project experience. In January, we realigned the company into 3 distinct businesses and going forward, we will report our financial results based on these sectors:

Includes the engineering, procurement, modularization and construction of all energy processes and LNG projects worldwide.

Consolidates CB&I's legacy flat bottom tank, water tower, sphere, nuclear containment vessel and low temperature/cryogenic storage businesses.

Continues to provide process technology licensing for refineries, petrochemical plants and gas processing plants, in addition to providing technical services and catalysts.

Despite the global economic situation, we remain optimistic about our ability to continue to win and execute projects that will enhance our profitability and allow us to build for the future. We have done a good job in reducing costs in recognition of the reality that the business climate has changed and will continue to change. As a company we need to be agile enough to respond to the new conditions and capitalize on the emerging opportunities. In doing so, we must continue to provide a solid return to our shareholders while maintaining a relentless focus on improving efficiencies in everything we do.

Thank you for your continued support.