IBERSOL Annual Report 2018

ANNUAL REPORT 2018 European Commission, although the im- pact will only really be visible in coming years. We believe Pizza Hut will continue to be a valuable asset to the Group, due to the importance and the quality of the brand. This was also an important year for our agreement with Burger King, with the opening of new restaurants. Equally important to the management of our group was the signing of two in- vestment tax contracts with the State, representing a total of 42.5 million eu- ros, which guarantees the creation of 926 jobs, as well as the concession of financial benefits to group companies. The economic situation in Spain also showed signs of slowing down, despite growth of 2.5% in 2018. This fell below Government estimates, although it is in line with both Bank of Spain and IMF forecasts. As for Angola, a country which is feel- ing the effects of the new and trans- formative leadership of João Lourenço, 2018 was marked by a 2.4% recession, according to FocusEconomics consult- ants, although this is expected to give way to growth over the next few years. The important oil sector continued to fall short of desired results in the last quarter of 2018, with falling oil prices offsetting any gains from the slightly higher turnout of the previous quarter. But there is a silver lining. The economy will recover in 2019. Inflation should drop and the Kwanza is expected to stabilise, sustaining private expenditure, while ongoing IMF sponsored reforms should boost growth in investment and in eco- nomic activity. Bloomberg analysts expect economic growth of 2.2% for Angola, which should climb to 2.5% in 2020, whereas inflation should remain above 16%. It is worth not- ing good signs in terms of foreign cur- rency transfers, with the National Bank of Angola taking on a stabilising role. We want to remain focused on customer satisfaction in all the markets the group operates in, in the knowledge that in the end what matters is good value for mon- ey and the good experiences we provide with every visit to our restaurants. 9