annual report 2011 - Walter Meier

30 / review of tHe year
Walter Meier / annual report 2011
Humidification
the Group Division Humidification saw some significant
changes with its acquisition of JS Humidifiers (uK), Ml System
(Denmark) and anderberg Fugtstyring (Denmark) as well as
its shift in focus toward the French market. overall, the Group
Division’s sales exceeded those achieved in the previous year,
buoyed by the various acquisitions (increase of CHF 1.7 million,
or 1.7 percent). excluding the newly acquired business units,
sales – which are generated almost entirely abroad – had a
significantly more negative impact on the consolidated
financial statements than last year due to the strong Swiss
franc. adjusted for currency and consolidation effects, global
sales of humidification equipment and systems fell by 0.9
percent in organic terms in the 2011 financial year. this
decline is mainly due to the highly negative currency effects
that hit the export business of Condair ltd., the Group
Division’s largest company, which is based in pfäffikon in
the Canton of Schwyz (Switzerland).
Climate
With the exception of the Swiss domestic market, all companies
in the Group Division Climate increased year-on-year sales
in local currencies. Besides the weakness of the euro, the
Group Division’s marked decline in sales (–3.4 percent compared
to the previous year) mainly resulted from the transfer
of its radiant cooling business line to MWH Barcol-air and
the sale of its uK air-conditioning system retail business. the
weak euro had an impact on the currency translation of
the German and austrian business units’ sales figures and
resulted in significant price concessions that had to be
absorbed by the Swiss retail business. adjusted for currency
and consolidation effects, the Group Division Climate posted
organic growth of 2.9 percent.
tools
the Group Division tools generates some two-thirds of its
revenues in north america, meaning that currency translation
effects had a significant impact on sales, which fell by CHF 8.1
million (5.0 percent) in terms of the Swiss franc year-on-year.
Viewed in local currencies, the uS manual wood- and metalworking
business in particular made substantial progress
on its growth path. adjusted for currency effects, the Group
Division generated organic sales growth of 7.4 percent.
machining solutions
During the crisis years, the Swiss core business, which consists
of total solutions for precision machining, was hit by the
sharpest decline in sales by a large margin when measured
across all Group Divisions. in contrast, it enjoyed an impressive
trend reversal last year, achieving sales growth of 22.2 percent.
Despite this success, the sales figures posted by Machining
Solutions still lagged clearly behind the record-breaking years
of 2007 and 2008.
outlook
provided that the general economic situation in the key
markets of Switzerland, Germany and north america does
not deteriorate significantly in comparison with February
2012, Walter Meier again expects a low single-digit rise
in organic sales growth for the current year. assuming stable
exchange rates, it should be possible to maintain eBit at
the previous year’s level, although net income may fall slightly
year-on-year due to positive exceptional effects in 2011.