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3 Foreword DOTTIKON ES Group Annual Report 2011/12
Due to conviction and experience not deviating from the strategic course
The Western world is a long way from rectifying the economic and financial troubles of the last
years. The consequences of these crises are too drastic and too deep to be corrected in a few
years. Although it seems that there may be a return to slight growth in some parts of the world,
further major distortions cannot be excluded despite huge political efforts – particularly in
Europe. The return to a healthy global economy may take years and is also likely to increase the
risk of political unrest.
The pharmaceutical industry, which has been crisis-proof in the past, has not been spared in
this worldwide economic depression. Even though turnovers have not suffered significant quantitative
decreases – illnesses are immune to crisis periods – nevertheless there has been major
pressure on drug prices from all sides, causing margin losses that are set to continue in the
future. The pharmaceutical industry has been forced to make profound structural and strategic
changes that will also affect suppliers, among others.
After the downturn of the last two years, DOTTIKON ES Group has again recorded a slight
increase in sales in the reporting year. Thanks to ongoing strict cost management, a significant-
ly improved result has been achieved in comparison with the previous year, even though this
still represents a slight loss. Smaller investments and tight cash management have made it pos-
sible to keep cash and cash equivalents at a high level, which helped the company until now to
maintain a robust, debt-free and therefore crisis-resistant balance sheet.