RECORD FINANCIAL RESULTS
Supported by strong demand for our steel products, IPSCO posted its fifth consecutive year of record performance in 2006. Revenues rose 24% to $3.78 billion and net income reached $643.1 million or $13.43 per share, an increase of 12% from 2005. Since 2003, our revenues have grown by 178%.

It's clear that the past three years have been good for IPSCO - so good that some investors might be wondering, "How long can this extraordinary performance continue?" Demand in this industry has always fluctuated; in fact, IPSCO elected to reduce output volumes in the fourth quarter of 2006 to accommodate what we believe will be short-lived inventory reductions in plate and tubular markets. As for how the demand and pricing environment for steel will play out in 2007 and in the years ahead, that's something we cannot predict with certainty. The more relevant question for us, however, is this: "Can IPSCO continue to outperform the industry?" Thanks to the strategies we've been following to shape the Company's future, I believe the answer is "Yes".

BUILDING OUR LEADERSHIP IN PLATE AND PIPE
Shaping our future starts with building meaningful scale in the most promising sectors of the steel business. We are the largest supplier of steel plate in North America, a region that hosts one of the world's steadiest economies, and our prospects are supported by positive fundamentals. Demand for high-quality plate products is expected to remain strong thanks to steady economic growth and the required maintenance of North America's aging infrastructure. Meanwhile, rapid growth in the developing world will continue to sustain strong global demand.

Following the acquisition of NS Group, we improved our position as one of North America's leading producers of energy tubular products, with a greatly expanded product range that now includes seamless pipe and premium oilfield connections and services. This part of our business also continues to benefit from solid fundamentals. While energy prices can be volatile in the short term, most analysts have no doubt about the long-term trend toward higher energy prices and increased exploration activity. Better yet, we have the good fortune of being located in North America, a region that includes more than half of the world's active drilling rigs.

Our large diameter pipe business is similarly well positioned. IPSCO has long been a leader in the development of high-performance steels and the large diameter pipe produced from them. In response to strong demand, we'll be running our spiral mills at capacity through the first quarter of 2008. Our longer-term prospects also remain promising thanks to several million tons of pipeline projects currently under consideration. To meet this increased demand, we announced an $80 million investment to increase the annual capacity at our large diameter spiral mills in Regina by 66% to 500,000 tons by early 2008.