Annual Report 2010 - Melitta

in sales of filter papers in Europe and Cofresco
products.
There were strong differences in progress between the
various divisions and regions once again in 2010. All in
all, our business with coffee machines and accessories
for the food service sector was highly encouraging. Neu
Kaliss also made strong progress in its sales of specialist
papers: expansion of the company’s foreign business
and a recovery of domestic demand led to a sharp rise in
revenues. We will expand our capacities in this field in
future via the company Neukölln Spezialpapier NK
GmbH & Co. KG, founded in late 2010.
Our national subsidiaries in the USA, Canada and Brazil
once again made encouraging progress. Against the
backdrop of a flourishing economy and thus rising consumption,
we are particularly optimistic about the future
growth opportunities for our coffee and filter paper business
in Brazil. In 2010, Melitta do Brasil succeeded in
expanding its shares of the growing roasted coffee and
filter paper markets. We also see good opportunities to
expand our coffee business in North America with the
aid of innovative branded products and the regional
expansion of our distribution network.
Pressure from private label suppliers and discounters,
coupled with subdued consumer demand in western
Europe, prevented any increase in sales of our products
in the strategic business field “Freshness and Flavour”.
Sales of the strategic business field “Convenient Cleaning”
once again remained at the prior-year level. Dust
filter bags made good progress, while sales of garbage
bags fell slightly year on year. There was a boost to
growth from the business field’s introduction of products
for cleanliness in pet households.
Compared to the previous year, sales of coffee made
good progress in Germany. However, the development
of business was also impacted by a strong increase in
green bean prices. The price of “Arabica” beans, for
example, climbed from 138 cts/lb to 242 cts/lb during
the year.
There were also some strong increases in the raw material
prices of aluminum and cellulose. Hedging transactions
helped cushion the impact on earnings, however.
As we were unable to pass on other increases in raw
material costs, as well as in fixed costs (e.g. energy),
there was a slight negative impact on consolidated
earnings.
Personnel expenses increased in total by 4 percent due
mainly to the hiring of staff abroad.
All in all, the Melitta Group is satisfied with the development
of sales and earnings in the past fiscal year.
Assets and finance
Group Management Report
Group still boasts stable assets and financial position
The Group’s total assets grew by € 26 million, from
€ 598 million to € 624 million, as a result of capital
expenditures and an increase in current assets. Due to
the strong revaluation of certain relevant currencies,
there was also a net increase in total assets as of
December 31, 2010 resulting from currency translation.
The regulations of the German Accounting Law Modernization
Act (BilMoG) to be applied for the first time
in 2010, and in particular the ability to choose how to
allocate differences from the revaluation of pension
accruals, had no material impact on the asset position.
The creation of a liquidity buffer of € 14 million, the
purchase of a 100-percent shareholding in ACW-Film
GmbH & Co. KG and investments in the expansion
and modernization of plant and machinery, especially
in North America and Brazil, led to an increase in
assets of € 25 million. They rose from € 207 million to
€ 232 million.
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