E_mg_GB_03_vorne-29_3_04

More documents

Recommendations

Info

70 Zimmer wins major contract for direct spinning plant Last year Zimmer failed to repeat its good performance of 2001/2002. The main reasons for this were the increasingly intense competition from suppliers from the U.S. dollar bloc due to the strength of the euro, and the already low level of capital spending worldwide. In addition, local suppliers – particularly from China – improved their market position in the fields of polymers and synthetic fibers. Zimmer won eight contracts during the period under review. Due to their significance, the orders it won in Lithuania and China are particularly worth mentioning here. In Klaipeda, Lithuania, the company is building a plant that will manufacture 400 tonnes of granules for PET bottles per day for an international group of investors. Zimmer also secured an order from one of China’s largest weaving businesses for the construction of a polyester direct spinning plant in Wujiang, China. The plant has 32 production lines and a total annual capacity of 350,000 tonnes. It will be the world’s largest direct spinning plant project ever to be completed in a single investment stage. Once the deal had been cleared by Germany’s antitrust authorities, Zimmer acquired Fleissner GmbH & Co. Maschinenfabrik, Egelsbach. Fleissner was consolidated in the subgroup’s accounts as from December 1 of last year. Zimmer believes this acquisition will enable it to strategically consolidate its market position in staple-fiber plant engineering, and will add the fast-growing nonwovens business to its product range. Dynamit Nobel affected by the economy Dynamit Nobel’s sales and earnings declined in 2003 due to the ailing state of the economy and adverse exchange rate movements. The decrease was also caused by portfolio adjustments. Adjusted for divestments, the custom-synthesis business reported slightly higher sales. Its specialchemistry unit managed to defend its position in the pharmaceutical sector despite intensifying competition and the loss of a key customer at Rohner AG in Pratteln, Germany, in the custom-synthesis market. A restructuring project introduced in 2003 took account of the resultant effects on capacity utilization at Rohner AG. In Mourenx, France, Dynamit Nobel subsidiary Finorga S.A. commissioned a new plant that can efficiently produce highly effective pharmaceutical active ingredients on an industrial scale in compliance with the rules laid down by the FDA, the U.S. healthcare regulator. During the year under review, negotiations on the disposal of the remaining activities of the former explosives business (industrial ignition systems and defense technology) were initiated. The Plastics business unit, virtually all of whose business is with the automotive industry, slightly increased its sales despite the low level of business activity in this sector. The unit managed to safeguard its strong market position for the long term by acquiring follow-up orders for model updates of key model series. The Advanced Ceramics business unit reported slightly higher sales during the period under review. Sales in the medical technology business were particularly encouraging, strengthening the unit’s market position in ceramic components for artificial hip joints. The official approval of its ceramic hip-joint components for the U.S. provided it with access to a market with considerable growth
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 potential. CeramTec is also a supplier of piezo actuators used in multilayer technology for diesel injection systems. CeramTec decided not to shoulder the business risk of the follow-up investment owing to the differing expectations about the future development of this business. It agreed with its customer to discontinue deliveries of piezo actuators. The start-up and discontinuation of this new actuator product depressed CeramTec’s earnings in 2003. Following the dramatic drop in sales in 2001/2002, the business in ceramic components for the electronics industry recovered despite persistently lackluster demand for consumer electronics and telecommunications. CeramTec, which manufactures and markets thread guides for textile machinery, continued its growth. The company strengthened its position in this segment of the Asian market by acquiring the shares of its joint venture partner in China and relocating to its own production facilities. The systems engineering business achieved strong sales growth despite the ailing state of the construction industry. In Europe it continued to extend its market leadership in sealing washers for sanitary appliances. Sales in the Specialty Chemicals business unit in 2003 failed to match those achieved in 2001/2002. This decrease stemmed from Chemetall’s surface technology, lithium and polymer chemistry businesses. The main reasons for this were the disposal of the glazing sealing compounds business (insulating glass sealing materials and cast resins), adverse exchange rate movements, and certain weak markets. Adjusted for the effects of this disposal and exchange rates, sales were only marginally down on the previous year. Chemetall continued to pursue its strategy of internationalization in its surface technology business, signing a cooperation agreement with Russian company Ecohim to work as a subcontractor to Russia’s automotive and automotive supplier industries. This will provide the company with new growth prospects as a partner to these Russian industries. In lithium chemistry, Chemetall defended its position as a global market leader. On July 1, 2003, Chemetall sold its business in insulating glass sealing materials and cast resins for the glass industry to Kömmerling Chemische Fabrik GmbH. The sales of the Pigment Chemicals business unit were hit by the difficult economic environment, adverse exchange rate movements, and weak market prices. Following the marked slowdown in business activity in the aftermath of the Iraq war and the SARS epidemic, the synthetic fiber industry’s demand for anatase crystals returned to normal during the second half of 2003. This business continued to expand in Asia, with disproportionate growth being achieved in China. Dynamit Nobel subsidiary Sachtleben opened a representative office in Shanghai in order to serve its customers on the ground. By sharpening its focus on the Chinese market and intensifying its customer relationship management in this region, Sachtleben aims to benefit from the rapid growth of the synthetic fiber market in the world’s most populous country. Its pioneering nano-products business posted double-digit growth in 2003. Sachtleben established itself in the fast-growing cosmetics market with its highly effective broadband filters based on nano-fine titanium dioxides. The fashion for UV-protecting day-to-day cosmetics made a major contribution to this encouraging trend. 71
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:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24: 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 73: MANAGEMENT SHARE STRATEGY SPECIAL S
Page 81 and 82: mg's mission is to ensure sustainab
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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?