Annual report - Viscofan

VISCOFAN ANNUAL REPORT 2006Viscofan and business performance in 2006In 2006 the Viscofan Group undertook a majorprocess of integration and restructuring of thebusinesses it acquired over the past few years. Thekey acquisition was the takeover early in the year ofTeepak’s manufacturing sites in the United Statesand Mexico and its sales offices for the Americas andthe Asia Pacific region.shortened the period of "teething difficulties"normally associated with this kind of operations.The restructuring and improvement efforts of 2006enabled us to achieve, just twelve months after thelatest acquisitions, earnings per share 59% abovelast year's figure.The purchase of Teepak was a milestone for theViscofan Group. The move entrenched Viscofan’sleadership in the artificial casings market, bolstered itsinternational presence and made it the onlymanufacturer to make all commercially availablecasing families: cellulose, collagen, fibrous and plastic.Viscofan, in the awareness of the competitiveadvantages of its new size, sped up the process ofrestructuring and integrating the acquired plantsinto the Group. A swift, efficient integration driveThe changes included efficiency upgrades at theUnited States and Mexico plants, improvement workat the Serbian site and the completion of the moveof plastics manufacturing from Germany to theCzech Republic and Brazil.Alongside these developments, the Companycontinued to optimise the management of its othersubsidiaries: they faced a major challenge in theform of rising energy costs, which drove up directproduction costs.12