PDF - Somero Enterprises

Section 2Business ReviewPresident and Chief ExecutiveOfficer’s Statement“The outlook for 2007 appears strongin all markets. The non-residentialconstruction market is expected tocontinue to be strong throughout thisyear and next. Somero is focused oncontinuing its growth in all areas.We will look to expand our presencein emerging markets, introduceinnovative new products into new andexisting markets, and add small linesales and demonstration personnelin all regions. The Company’sattractive fundamentals, marketposition and products, together withan experienced management team,provide us with a solid platform onwhich to continue to grow the businessboth organically and, where appropriate,through selective acquisitions.”I am pleased to report the results ofSomero Enterprises, Inc. for the yearended 31 December 2006. Revenueswere US$55.9m, 32.1% above 2005levels, and the Company reportedEBITDA of US$14.7m, an increase of49.9% on the previous year. NetIncome before amortisation stood atUS$7.8m, 38% higher than 2005.In achieving these outstanding results,we focused in 2006 on the maincomponents of our business strategy,namely to enhance and expandSomero’s product offering, expand ourgeographic footprint and distributionchannels, maintain our focus on cashflow and cost control.Results were strong across all productlines and in all geographic territories.We continue to expand into newgeographic markets and to benefitfrom strong commercial buildingtrends worldwide. North America sawincreased growth driven by theacceptance of small line equipment,strong non-residential construction andthe large line replacement demand.Internationally, we sold units into atotal of 44 countries outside NorthAmerica with new sales this year intothe Ukraine, UAE and Iceland.The addition of small line sales anddemonstration personnel and acomplete year of PowerRake salesresulted in small line growth of 28.2%to US$11.1m in North America. Europealso added sales and demonstrationpersonnel along with independentsales representatives which increasedsmall line sales by 34.8% to US$3.5m.Small line sales in Australia and Asiawere flat while in Latin and SouthAmerica we hired a sales manager inthe third quarter that generated smallline sales of US$400,000.Large line sales continued with stronggrowth in 2006 with sales up 43.4% toUS$25.4m. European sales were up34.8% to US$5.4m driven by newindependent sales representatives inRussia and Eastern Europe and thebeginning of the replacement demandin the UK where the Company has hada presence for some 20 years.Large line sales in the US and Canadawere also strong with sales increasing44.5% to US$18.8m. This was the resultof strong non-residential constructionand the replacement cycle. Large linesales in Australia and Asia continue togrow with a sales increase of US$500,000to US$1.3m. This included our first SXPLarge Laser Screed sales to China tosupport the Costco expansion into China.We reorganised our management teamin 2006 to ensure that we have strongmanagement teams in each of ourlocations and for new territories wherewe see the potential for furtherexpansion. Recruiting qualified salesand support personnel in NorthAmerica was a focus in 2006. We havefurther enhanced our recruitment andselection process and begun to see theresult of these actions addingconsiderable strength to our marketingand sales force especially in those newemerging identified markets. In turn,as the year has progressed, we haveseen this produce a positivecontribution to our financial results.We expect to be fully staffed in the fieldby the end of the first quarter of 2007across all our key markets and, as wedevelop our dedicated Sales TrainingCollege in Michigan in 2007, we expectnew employees to be highly productivein a shorter period of time.Agents and distributors outside ofNorth America are being recruited toexpand our sales and service presencein other markets. We have had earlysuccess in South America and Europe6Somero Enterprises, Inc.Annual Report and Accounts 2006