annual report 2011 - Walter Meier

02 / letter to sHareHolders
walter meIer / annual report 2011
a year oF great Joy,
some concern and
Important steps
It has been a rather schizophrenic year: both good and bad.
bad because of the sovereign debt crisis and its causes such as
the abject failure on the part of politicians to comply with
binding regulations, a serious consequence of which has been
a major loss of confidence in the key individuals who share
responsibility. It is a truism to say that trust in the future is
what most keeps the economic engine running smoothly.
but – and this is, if anything, even more important for us – the
financial year was once again a very good one for walter meier.
In a nutshell, this was thanks to a sustained period of favorable
conditions and, in particular, a combination of old and new
strengths in our business operations. both our activities in
climate technology and especially in manufacturing technology
contributed to what were outstanding results overall.
Humidification
our position as the global market leader in humidification
was strengthened considerably by three acquisitions in the uK
and denmark. a range of strategic measures have been initia
ted in this area geared toward solidifying our leading position
even further. every year, the excellent performance of our
north american business in particular should be highlighted.
as of January 1, 2012, Humidification operations will be run
under the leading brand name of condair.
Climate
climate switzerland, the largest of walter meier’s business
areas, was hit by a slight economic slowdown and turmoil on
the currency markets, but it nonetheless succeeded in posting
gratifying results. activities in germany stood out once again,
while austria experienced something of a difficult period.
tools
global tools activities painted a mixed picture. although
business stagnated in switzerland and especially France,
certain international activities, such as in russia, were
pleasing. the us business, by far the largest market, im-
pressed once again, delivering outstanding performance
with its Jet, powermatic and wilton brands.
machining solutions
special praise should be reserved for our core business of
machining solutions. In spite of the major problems facing
switzerland as an industrial center, significant improvements
in performance on what had already been a solid previous
year were recorded, bolstered by our position as the leading
supplier to the watch industry and medical technology.
Figures
contrary to all expectations in an ever more grueling en vi ro nment,
all key performance figures with the exception of sales
were up on those achieved in what had already been a very
positive 2010! most notably, ebIt (cHF 56.5 million) and net
profit (cHF 51.9 million) increased once again in both absolute
and relative terms – despite upheavals on the currency
markets. working capital was kept under control and free
cash flow was positive.
last but not least, and particularly important in these uncertain
times: the balance sheet is healthier than ever, with
no net liabilities – quite the contrary, in fact! the equity ratio
was also very sound, at 55.6 percent.
the bottom line: earnings per share amounted to a healthy
cHF 25.02.