Annual Report 2005

42
Forecast
We plan to achieve sales amounting to 135 million Euros in 2006. This is based on moderate
growth in all business units compared with last year. We are expecting to realise several
projects which were started as joint ventures with customers last year within the new business
unit “Special Products”.
With these sales, we are expecting to make a profit after tax. This is based on us retaining
the improved gross profit margins achieved during the second half of 2005 compared with
the previous year and on the moderate development of possible increases in the prices of raw
materials. We have also assumed that the positive development of the economy will continue.
Because of the restructuring measures carried out in 2004 and 2005, we expect a per capita
performance of 240,000 Euros during the current financial year as well as significant improvement
in all the definitive key data.
Investments in 2006 amount to less than 2.0 million Euros. These are concentrated on the
areas of replacement, IT and an exhaust air decontamination system for the UK production
site.
As far as replacement is concerned, we are going to optimise the purchasing of parts in the
USA in order to enable us to gain benefit from the consolidation of production volumes carried
out in 2005. We will obtain supplies for adhesive coatings increasingly from international
sources in order to reduce the costs of raw materials. Apart from this, we will continue to
work with our suppliers in order to optimise products and procurement processes.
We will collaborate with selected suppliers on an increasing number of projects to reduce
inventory commitments and increase the liquidity of the company.
We expect to further reduce inventory commitments in the current financial year and thus
increase our cash flow.
IT processes have been optimised during the past financial year. This will continue, focusing
on worldwide standardised sales reporting on a daily basis using standardised analysis tools.
We will keep to our strategic objectives and priorities in the field of research and development
which will mean taking account of the requirements relating to the business unit
“Special Products”. Activities will be determined by market and customer requirements, coordinated
in line with each other and controlled from a central location.
After our successful program of restructuring and the major staff cutbacks made over the
past few years, we are planning to make further staff cutbacks in 2006 but only in connection
with the relocation of activities from the Wichita site in the USA which was carried out.
As far as our staff are concerned, we have already started to invest more heavily in their professional
development. We will continue to do so by concentrating on specific priorities.
Variable payment shares will be developed further and standardised.