ANNUAL REPORT 2011 A.S. CRÉATION TAPETEN AG

GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT
58
firmed that the risks to the future development
may be identified and documented by the early
risk identification system established in accordance
with section 91 of the German Stock
Corporation Law (Aktiengesetz AktG) and that
they have been properly presented in the management
report. This year, the risk management
system was again reviewed by KPMG in the
context of the annual audit.
Important events after the end of the
fiscal year
The Managing Board is of the opinion that no
reportable events occurred after the end of the
fiscal year.
Outlook
Nearly all forecasts for the year 2012 expect
the world economy to slow down markedly,
primarily because the unresolved debt crisis
in the large economies will have an adverse
impact on economic activity. As a result, the
emerging countries will also see lower growth
than in the year 2011, which is why the World
Bank, for instance, expects the world economy
to grow by only 2.5% in 2012.
The euro-zone economy will probably be hit
particularly hard and is projected to report an
0.4% decline in the gross domestic product in
2012. Capital spending, which was the main
growth driver in 2011, is expected to decrease
by 0.3% this year. As capacity utilisation in the
manufacturing sector is likely to decline due
to reduced demand, there will be less need for
investments in new plant capacity. Moreover,
the general uncertainty arising from the euro
crisis is having an adverse impact on companies’
propensity to invest. Exports, the second growth
driver of the year 2011, are expected to decline
as well. Compared to these adverse effects,
the projected 0.4% increase in consumer
spending will be too low to prevent a recessionary
trend in the euro-zone in 2012. The
only positive aspect from the point of view of
A.S. Création is that the expectations regarding
private consumption expenditures in
Germany and France, the company’s two most
important output markets, are somewhat better
than for the other countries. Private consumption
expenditures in these two countries are
projected to grow by between 0.5% and 1.0%.
The projections for the Eastern European markets
that are relevant for A.S. Création, especially
Russia, have traditionally been subject to the
greatest uncertainty. Factors such as the trend
in commodity and export prices, exchange rate
parity and the inflation trend will have a
material impact on economic growth in these
countries. Growth rates of between 4% and