Annual Report 2010 - About Heraeus

32 Heraeus 2010 ··· Group Management Report ··· Consolidated Financial Statements
Group Result
FINaNCIal PERFORMaNCE
The Heraeus Group closed out financial year 2010 at a
record high. Heraeus’ strong position in individual markets,
innovative strength, flexible workforce, and solid
financial structure all contributed to the Group’s stability
and the continued expansion of business activities. The
company emerged from the difficulties of financial year
2009 stronger than ever.
Product revenue reached € 4.1 billion, a dramatic 57.7%
increase over the previous year. The strongest region
was Asia, where revenues rose by 76.8% over the previous
year. Product revenues also climbed significantly in
America and Europe (+ 44.2% and + 41.8% respectively
over the results for 2009). The share of revenues for
Asia in financial year 2010 stood at 53.0% (previous
year: 47.3%).
The precious metals and the materials and technologies
business groups made substantial gains, posting a
record with product revenues up by 110.2% and 53.4%
respectively.
The quartz glass business group, hit hard by the crisis
during the previous year, took advantage of the economic
rebound and a cyclical upswing to post a strong revenue
increase of 40.1%.
Also achieving higher sales figures for the reporting period
were sensors (+ 27.4%) and specialty light sources
(+ 38.1%). In contrast, the dental products business
held fairly steady (+ 5.9%). The medical products business
with bone cements and biomaterials again made
a positive contribution to the Group’s revenue, posting
a gain of 11.9% over the previous year.
Trading revenues came in at €17.9 billion owing to high
gold prices and the continued rise in prices for other
precious metals during the year, as well as significantly
higher industrial demand (previous year: €13.6 billion).
The Group’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in
2010 rose by € 225.2 million to € 396.3 million, a jump
of 131.6% over the weaker showing induced by the crisis
during the previous year. The economic recovery, particularly
in the export business, contributed significantly to
this success. Human resources costs rose by 9.7% to
€ 607.6 million during the reporting period, in accordance
with workforce increases due to increased orders as well
as mergers and acquisitions. The Heraeus Group added
591 employees, for a total of 12,931 at year’s end.
Depreciations rose only slightly and were largely related
to acquisitions that took place during the previous year.
Other operating income (€ 98.6 million, down from € 99.6
million the previous year) includes write-ups amounting
to €7.4 million (last year: € 27.1 million) of impairments
of property, plant, and equipment taken in the quartz
glass business group in prior years, due to anticipated
positive business development in the coming years.
Exchange gains rose by €19.6 million over the previous
year’s level, while an almost identical increase in exchange
losses (+ € 20.9 million) was reported in other
operating expenses. Overall, other operating expenses
rose by €74.8 million to € 353.4 million in the reporting
year. The strong growth in business volume led to a
significant increase in virtually every operating cost pool,
such as the use of external services, transportation
costs, and maintenance expenses.