AT&S World

Letter to our Shareholders
10
Letter to our Shareholders
Dear shareholders,
Strong demand for high-end printed circuit boards in mobile
devices in particular, but also from industrial and automotive
customers, have helped AT&S Group to achieve one of the best
sets of results in its history. Although we experienced a number
of ups and downs in the individual quarters, our core businesses
performed very well overall over the past 12 months, each returning
double-digit growth. AT&S Group posted total sales of
EUR 488m for the financial year just ended, surpassing the previous
record of EUR 486m million in pre-crisis 2007/08. AT&S
is today in a stronger position than it was before the crisis, an
achievement of which we can justly be proud.
Results of ordinary business activities
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the financial
year 2010/11 (adjusted for non-recurring expenses) came to EUR 49.2m, with earnings per share amounting to EUR 1.51.
In the first quarter of financial 2010/11 further changes in the organisational structure were decided on, in the interests of improving
administrative efficiency. The Vienna office, which until then had been responsible for the Group’s major holding company functions,
was closed with effect from the end of 2010. These functions were transferred to the Leoben-Hinterberg production facility
and other Group sites.
The results also show that AT&S has a critical competitive edge over its competitors in Asia as well: the plant in Shanghai is one of
the most modern of its kind, particularly in terms of automation. Our strategy of emphasizing a high degree of automation in Asia
has so far paid off, as we are significantly less exposed to rising wage costs than our competitors in the region.
The combination of rapid capacity expansion and ongoing development of new technologies is the key to the Group’s success, and
both aspects have been the focus of intense activity over the past 12 months. The commercialisation of our ECP ® technology in cooperation
with a leading international manufacturer of semiconductors is a highly promising first move into this market. But this
is just the start. We will shorten development lead times to ensure that new technologies for printed circuit board manufacturing
are implemented more rapidly. The cooperation agreement concluded with Panasonic and the acquisition of the ALIVH ® technology
is a major milestone in this process. We firmly believe that our innovative technologies will facilitate new designs and functionality
and, in turn, promote the development of new applications – especially in the mobile phone segment.
We were delighted to learn from the President of Europe’s 500 in December that we are ranked among the top 500 growth companies
in Europe. This award is testimony to our strategic focus on sustained and profitable growth.
Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is a high priority at AT&S. We are convinced that our careful use of resources will bring the Group
additional significant competitive advantages in the medium term. The results of our customer CSR audits are already bearing
fruit, clearly showing that here too we play a leading role in our industry. We were one of the first printed circuit board manufacturers
in the world to decide to measure and publish its global CO 2 footprint, making us a pioneer among our competitors. We are
optimistic that we will be able to reduce average CO 2 emissions still further from the level of 53 kg/m² achieved by the end of last
financial year. However, this will require a major effort from all of our sites, and can only be achieved if we adhere to our principles
of conserving natural resources.