E_mg_GB_03_vorne-29_3_04

More documents

Recommendations

Info

66 PERFORMANCE OF THE SUBGROUPS The performance of the subgroups varied in 2003. While the industrial plant engineering companies incurred heavy losses, the performance of GEA and Dynamit Nobel was relatively robust. Overall, the subgroups’ performance was hit by the continued ailing state of the economy and the adverse currency effects of the strong euro (especially against the U.S. dollar). Robust performance by GEA despite the impact of the economy and exchange rates GEA recorded lower new orders and sales in 2003. The main reason for this was the movements in the euro exchange rate against the currencies of major export markets. This was particularly true of the U.S. dollar and dollar-bloc currencies. Outside the United States, GEA’s sales grew by approximately five percent. At the beginning of the year under review, the structural organization of the GEA Group was streamlined further and the liquid-processing business was split up. Since then, the components business has been managed by the Process-Engineering Components division, and liquid engineering has been run by the Process Engineering division. The new Process Engineering Components division consists of the former Thermal Technology division, the components business of the former Liquid Processing division, and the homogenizer business. As expected, levels of new orders and sales declined slightly on a comparable basis, as the secondary energy market – which had been extraordinarily strong in previous years – weakened. By contrast, business in plate heat exchangers and homogenizers grew encouragingly. The Energy Technology business, particularly in the field of power plant cooling, continued to contract as expected. This was mainly due to the weakness of the U.S. market. Following the process of consolidation among competitors, the pressure on prices – even in growth markets – intensified significantly. The Energy Technology division achieved a few notable successes in southern Europe. The process cooler business grew despite the weak U.S. market. This was due, among other things, to the high levels of capital spending on natural gas, which is becoming increasingly important in the global mix of primary fossil fuels. The Energy Technology division managed to achieve strong double-digit growth in its services business. The Air Treatment division, which only operates in Europe, had to defend its market position in a chronically difficult market environment. Lack of activity in commercial building construction caused volumes to contract in Austria and, especially, Germany. By contrast, the Air Treatment business achieved growth in France and Belgium. The central and east European marketing companies offered a mixed picture. While business in Hungary and Poland contracted slightly, there were positive signs in Croatia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. The announced restructuring of production capacities was completed by the end of the year.
MANAGEMENT SHARE STRATEGY SPECIAL SECTION MANAGEMENT REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FURTHER INFORMATION Economic Environment • Situation of the Company • Organization and Structure • Risk Report • Employees • Performance of the Subgroups • Outlook Despite the slight contraction in the global market for industrial refrigeration technology during the year under review, GEA’s Refrigeration division managed to slightly increase its volumes and maintain its high profitability. It continued to expand its sales and marketing presence in eastern Europe in order to consolidate its leading market position. The division also achieved its first sales in southern Europe in the field of gas compression. This new market segment offers further growth potential once the U.S. secondary energy market recovers. Despite the sluggish level of business activity, particularly in the food sector, GEA managed to defend its position in the U.S. and grow its market share compared to its main competitor. Its European service business was expanded further in 2003. Despite the sluggish market and the lower level of capital spending in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the Process Engineering division managed to defend its position. This new division includes the former Powder Technology division and, since the beginning of 2003, the liquid engineering business. Business in thermal separation technology (evaporators, distillation plant) was particularly strong. Growth in its traditional core business of powder technology was at its strongest in the Scandinavian and Chinese markets. The Mechanical Separation division, together with its management holding company Westfalia Separator, grew more rapidly than the market during the period under review. But for exchange rate effects, it would just about have achieved double-digit growth. Its ongoing innovation enabled it to raise the proportion of its products that are less than three years old to roughly two-thirds of its sales. In some areas this proportion was even higher. The main reasons for the decline in sales in the dairy farm systems business were adverse exchange rate movements and the low milk prices in the U.S. This market accounts for roughly one-third of the business volume in dairy farm systems. The division managed to maintain its market share in the U.S. Its business remained stable in Germany, its home market. In the rest of Europe, the unresolved issue of subsidies for the EU accession countries as well as low milk prices in Italy and Spain caused the general level of capital spending to fall. Its business in the U.K. matched the very high level of the previous year. The Dairy Farm Systems division achieved considerable success in China, where it opened its own branch during the year under review. Lurgi hit by lackluster capital spending Lurgi posted double-digit sales growth in 2003 on the back of big-ticket orders it had won prior to the period under review. This subgroup suffered declines in new orders due to the continuing lackluster performance of the economy and the uncertain geopolitical situation in key markets. Its earnings were depressed by high restructuring costs, for which Lurgi set aside accrued liabilities amounting to tens of millions of euros during the period under review. 67
Page 1 and 2:
“2003 was a year of transition fo
Page 3 and 4:
Consolidated Key Figures 2003 RESUL
Page 5 and 6:
Creating freedom for action CONTENT
Page 7 and 8:
MANAGEMENT SHARE STRATEGY SPECIAL S
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20: MANAGEMENT SHARE STRATEGY SPECIAL S
Page 25 and 26: zation As the world’s population
Page 33 and 34: The pharmaceutical industry will co
Page 37 and 38: Milk Last year, over 160 million co
Page 39 and 40: The MODUL tablet press produced by
Page 45 and 46: For a technology-driven organizatio
Page 69: MANAGEMENT SHARE STRATEGY SPECIAL S
Page 81 and 82: mg's mission is to ensure sustainab
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
MANAGEMENT AKTIE STRATEGIE SONDERTE
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185:
Key Figures for the mg Group RESULT
show all

E_mg_GB_03_vorne-29_3_04

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?