TABLE OF CONTENTS



UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


FORM 11-K


(Mark One)


þ

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934  [no fee required]


FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2005


¨

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 [no fee required]


For the transition period from ..................... to ..................................

Commission file number ....................................................................


1.

Full Title of the Plan and the address of the Plan:


GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND

SAVINGS PLAN FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES

4 Tesseneer Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky 41076-9753



2.

Name of Issuer of the securities held pursuant to the Plan and the address of its principal executive office:


GENERAL CABLE CORPORATION

4 Tesseneer Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky 41076-9753






1



General Cable Retirement and Savings Plan for Salaried Associates


Financial Statements as of and for the Years Ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, Supplemental Schedule as of December 31, 2005, and Report of Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm


2




GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND SAVINGS PLAN
FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

1

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF AND FOR THE YEARS ENDED
DECEMBER 31, 2005 AND 2004:

Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits

2

Statements of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits

3

Notes to Financial Statements

4–7

SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE—

8

Form 5500—Schedule H, Part IV, Line 4i—Schedule of Assets (Held at End of Year)

as of December 31, 2005

9

NOTE: All other schedules required by Section 2520.103-10 of the Department of Labor’s Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 have been omitted because they are not applicable.



3


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM


To the Audit Committee of the
Board of Directors of General Cable Corporation,
to the Retirement Plans Finance Committee and the
Retirement Plans Administrative Committee
(the “Retirement Committees”) and to the
Participants of the General Cable Retirement and
Savings Plan for Salaried Associates:

We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for benefits of the General Cable Retirement and Savings Plan for Salaried Associates (the “Plan”) as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the related statements of changes in net assets available for benefits for the years then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Plan is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstance, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Plan’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for benefits of the Plan as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the changes in its net assets available for benefits for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Our audits were conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The supplemental schedule of assets (held at end of year) as of December 31, 2005, is presented for the purpose of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements, but is supplementary information required by the Department of Labor’s Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This schedule is the responsibility of the Plan’s management. Such schedule has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in our audit of the basic 2005 financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.


June 22, 2006



4



GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND SAVINGS PLAN

FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES

    

STATEMENTS OF NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2005 AND 2004

    
 

2005

 

2004

    

ASSETS – Participant-directed investments (Note 3)

$114,347,393

 

$107,294,432

    

NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS

$114,347,393

 

$107,294,432

    

See notes to financial statements.

   




5



GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND SAVINGS PLAN

FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES

    

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2005 AND 2004

    
 

2005

 

2004

    

CONTRIBUTIONS:

   

  Employee

$4,702,193

 

$4,097,279

  Employer

2,960,800

 

2,124,971

  Rollover

1,521,106

 

207,602

    

           Total contributions

9,184,099

 

6,429,852

    

INVESTMENT INCOME:

   

  Net appreciation in fair value of investments

5,558,147

 

9,181,265

  Interest and dividends

3,326,785

 

2,252,688

    

           Total investment income

8,884,932

 

11,433,953

    

DEDUCTIONS:

   

  Benefits paid to participants

(11,072,914)

 

(10,534,733)

  Other disbursements

(9,515)

 

(9,935)

    

           Total deductions

(11,082,429)

 

(10,544,668)

    

TRANSFER FROM OTHER PLANS - Net

66,359

 

485,194

    

NET INCREASE

7,052,961

 

7,804,331

    

NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS:

   

  Beginning of year

107,294,432

 

99,490,101

    

  End of year

$114,347,393

 

$107,294,432

    
    

See notes to financial statements.

   



6


GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND SAVINGS PLAN
FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF AND FOR THE

YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2005 AND 2004

1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN

The following description of the General Cable Retirement and Savings Plan for Salaried Associates (the “Plan”) is provided for general information purposes only. Participants should refer to the Plan Document for more complete information.

General—The Plan is a defined contribution plan of General Cable Corporation (the “Company”) covering substantially all salaried employees of the Company or an affiliated company. GK Technologies, Inc. is the Plan Sponsor. General Cable Corporation and affiliated companies are participating employers. The Retirement Committees, appointed by the Board of Directors of the Company, control and manage the operation and administration of the Plan. MFS Heritage Trust Co. serves as the trustee of the Plan. The Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

Contributions—Participants may contribute up to a certain percent of their pre-tax annual compensation, as defined in the Plan, subject to certain Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) limitations. Participants may also contribute amounts representing distributions from other qualified defined benefit or defined contribution plans (“Rollover”). The Company, at its discretion, may match a percent of the participants’ before-tax contributions. The Company’s matching contributions, net of forfeitures of $32,233 and $55,000, respectively, were $1,063,813 and $435,116 for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

The Plan provides for the Company to make a discretionary contribution to the Plan’s employee retirement account for participants who have completed one year of service. The Company’s discretionary contributions, net of forfeitures of $271,031 and $370,000, respectively, were $1,896,987 and $1,689,855 for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

Participant Accounts—Individual accounts are maintained for each Plan participant. Each participant’s account is credited with the participant’s contribution, the Company’s discretionary matching contribution, the Company’s discretionary retirement contribution, and investment gains and losses. The benefit to which a participant is entitled is the benefit that can be provided from the participant’s vested account balance.

Investments—Participants direct the investments of their accounts into various investment options offered by the Plan. The Plan offers investment options including mutual funds, a common/collective trust fund and a Company common stock fund as investment options for participants.

Vesting—Participants are vested immediately in their contributions plus actual earnings thereon. The vesting of the Company’s discretionary retirement contribution portion of their account is based on years of continuous service. For participants who were hired on or after July 1, 2000, a participant is 100% vested after seven years of credited service or immediately upon attainment of age 65, age 55 with 5 years of service or death or disability.



7


The vesting of the Company’s discretionary matching contribution portion of their account is based on years of continuous service. For participants who were hired on or after July 1, 2000, a participant is 100% vested after four years of credited service or immediately upon attainment of age 65, age 55 with 5 years of service or death or disability.

Participants hired prior to July 1, 2000, should refer to the Plan Document for their vesting schedule.

Participant Loans—Participants may borrow from their fund accounts up to a maximum of $50,000 or 50% of their account balances, whichever is less. The loans are secured by the balance in the participant’s account and bear interest at a rate equal to the prime rate plus 1%, as determined by the Retirement Committees. Principal and interest are paid ratably through payroll deductions.

In-Service Withdrawals—Prior to termination of employment, participants may make hardship withdrawals or withdrawals upon attainment of age 59 and one half, in accordance with the Plan Document.

Payment of Benefits—Upon retirement or other termination of employment, a participant’s vested account balance less any amount necessary to repay participant loans may be distributed to the participant, or in the case of death, to a designated beneficiary, in a lump-sum distribution.

Forfeitures—As of December 31, 2005 and 2004, forfeited nonvested accounts totaled $43,300 and $25,391, respectively. Forfeitures are used to reduce future Company contributions to the Plan.

2.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Accounting—The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Use of Estimates—The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of net assets available for benefits and changes therein. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

The Plan utilizes various investment instruments including mutual funds, a common/collective trust fund and Company common stock. Investment securities, in general, are exposed to various risks, such as interest rate, credit and overall market volatility. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities, it is reasonably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will occur in the near term and that such changes could materially affect the amounts reported in the financial statements.

Investment Valuation and Income Recognition—The Plan’s investments are stated at fair value. Quoted market prices are used to value investments. Shares of mutual funds, the common/collective trust fund and Company common stock are valued at quoted market prices, which represent the net asset value of shares held by the Plan at year end. Participant loans are valued at the outstanding loan balances.

Purchases and sales of securities are recorded on a trade-date basis. Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis. Dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date.



8


Management fees and operating expenses charged to the Plan for investments in mutual funds are deducted from income earned on a daily basis and are not separately reflected. Consequently, management fees and operating expenses are reflected in the investment return for such investments.

Administrative Expenses—Trustee and investment management fees are paid by the Plan. Other administrative expenses are paid by the Company.

Payment of Benefits—Benefits are recorded when paid.

Transfers—In addition to this Plan, the Company also sponsors the General Cable Savings Plan for Hourly Associates and the General Cable Savings Plan. If employees change their status during the year, their account balances are transferred into the corresponding plan. The transfer from other Plans on the accompanying statements of changes in net assets available for benefits represents net transfers of participant account balances from the corresponding Plans.

Transfers also include certain outstanding loans transferred to the Plan at the request of certain associates who were hired by the Company following the 2005 acquisition of the Franklin, MA facility.

3.

INVESTMENTS

The Plan’s investments that represented 5% or more of the Plan’s net assets available for benefits as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, are as follows:

 

2005

2004

   

*

MFS Fixed Fund—Class I

$23,072,587

$22,538,731

*

MFS Value Fund—Class I

14,492,905

14,064,883

Franklin Small Mid Cap Growth Fund—Class A

10,059,017

10,064,965

*

MFS Massachusetts Investors Trust—Class I

8,891,640

8,709,529

American EuroPacific Growth Fund—Class A

8,408,620

6,311,580

*

MFS Emerging Growth Fund—Class I

7,662,266

8,049,412

Vanguard Institutional Index Fund

7,453,141

8,144,129

*

MFS Strategic Income Fund—Class I

6,484,004

6,419,481

   

*

Party-in-interest

  


During the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, Plan investments (including investments bought, sold and held during the period) appreciated (depreciated) in value as follows:


 

2005

 

2004

    

Mutual Funds

$3,852,691

 

$7,303,439

Common Collective Trust Fund

91,991

 

(4,142)

General Cable Corporation Common Stock Fund

1,613,465

 

1,881,968

    

Net appreciation of investments

$5,558,147

 

$9,181,265




9



4.

EXEMPT PARTY-IN-INTEREST TRANSACTIONS

Certain plan investments are held in shares of mutual funds managed by MFS Investment Management, an affiliate of MFS Heritage Trust Co. MFS Heritage Trust Co. is the trustee, as defined by the Plan and associated trust agreement and, therefore, these transactions qualify as party-in-interest transactions. Fees paid by the Plan for investment management services were funded from the expense ratios of the various funds.

As of December 31, 2005 and 2004, the Plan held 268,282 and 289,881 share equivalents, respectively, of common stock of General Cable Corporation, a participating employer, with a cost basis of $3,385,987 and $2,356,859, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the Plan recorded no dividend income.

Loans to participants in the amount of $2,411,153 and $2,282,154 were outstanding at December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

5.

PLAN TERMINATION

Although it has not expressed any intention to do so, the Plan Sponsor has the right under the Plan to discontinue its contributions at any time and to terminate the Plan subject to the provisions set forth in ERISA by duly adopted written resolution of the Board of Directors of the Plan Sponsor. In the event of termination, the assets of the Plan credited to each participant’s account become fully vested and non-forfeitable, and the plan assets will be allocated to provide benefits to participants as set forth in the Plan, or as otherwise required by law.

6.

FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS

The Internal Revenue Service has determined and informed the Company by a letter dated October 16, 2002, that the Plan and related trust are designed in accordance with applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code. The Plan has been amended since receiving this determination letter in accordance with the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. However, the Plan sponsor believes the Plan is designed and being administered in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. Therefore, no provision for income taxes is included in the accompanying financial statements.

******



10



SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE


11




GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND SAVINGS PLAN

FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES

   

FORM 5500 – SCHEDULE H, PART IV, LINE 4i –

SCHEDULE OF ASSETS (HELD AT END OF YEAR)

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2005

   
 

Identity of Issuer/

Description of Investment

Fair

Value

   
 

Common/Collective Trust Fund --

 

*

  MFS Fixed Fund - Class I

$23,072,587

   
 

Mutual Funds:

 
 

  American EuroPacific Growth Fund - Class A

8,408,620

 

  American Funds Growth Fund

3,824,021

 

  American Funds Washington Mutual Fund

824,032

 

  Armada Small Cap Value Fund - Class I

1,393,447

 

  Franklin Small Mid Cap Growth Fund - Class A

10,059,017

*

  MFS Capital Opportunities Fund - Class I

1,400,284

*

  MFS Emerging Growth Fund - Class I

7,662,266

*

  MFS Massachusetts Investors Growth Stock Fund - Class I

3,959,096

*

  MFS Massachusetts Investors Trust Fund - Class I

8,891,640

*

  MFS Mid Cap Growth Fund - Class I

399,617

*

  MFS Money Market Fund

251,456

*

  MFS Research International Fund - Class I

675,957

*

  MFS Strategic Income Fund - Class I

6,484,004

*

  MFS Value Fund - Class I

14,492,905

 

  PIMCO Total Return Fund - Class A

4,052,639

 

  T Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value Fund

2,714,878

 

  Vanguard Institutional Index Fund

7,453,141

 

  Victory Diversified Stock Fund - Class A

631,469

   
  

83,578,489

   
 

Common Stock Fund --

 

*

  General Cable Corporation

5,285,164

   
 

Loans to Participants --

 

*

  Notes receivable, with interest rates ranging from 5.00% to 11.00%,

 
 

     maturing through October 2015    

2,411,153

   
  

$114,347,393

   

*

Party-in-interest

 




12



SIGNATURES


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the trustees (or other persons who administer the employee benefits plan) have duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.  



GENERAL CABLE RETIREMENT AND

SAVINGS PLAN FOR SALARIED ASSOCIATES



Date:

June 23, 2005

By:  

/s/ Robert J. Siverd


Name:

Robert J. Siverd

Title:

Member, Savings Plan

Administrative Committee



13


EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit Number

Exhibit


23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

for General Cable Corporation Retirement and Savings Plan

for Salaried Associates




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