GEA issues Guidance for 2011
At its 2010 earnings press conference, GEA confirmed the preliminary figures it had already published at the beginning of February. In 2010, order intake increased by 12 percent to EUR 4,578 million. Revenue reached the previous year’s volume at EUR 4,418 million. Profit from operating activities before interest, tax, and restructuring expenses amounted to EUR 356.8 million. The corresponding margin of 8.1 percent represents a year-on-year increase of 52 bps. EBIT after restructuring expenses amounted to EUR 237.5 million. Consolidated profit amounted to EUR 133.7 million, producing earnings per share of EUR 0.72. Once again, discontinued operations did not affect GEA Group’s consolidated profit.
Net liquidity more than doubled year-on-year to EUR 104.8 million, partly due to lower investing activities and the targeted reduction in working capital, which could be reduced by approximately EUR 350 million in the course of the past two fiscal years.
Commenting on business expectations for the current year, Jürg Oleas, CEO of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, noted: “The now encouraging level of investment in the food industry is likely to remain firm, and the energy sector, which has been muted to date, is set to continue recovering. As a result, we are forecasting an organic increase in order intake and revenue of at least 5 percent in 2011. With regard to earnings, we are expecting the EBIT margin to grow to approximately 9 percent. No further significant one-off expenses are expected for 2011.”
In addition, the recent acquisitions of Convenience Food Systems (CFS), Bock, and Mashimpeks, which together generated almost EUR 500 million in revenue in the past fiscal year, will contribute to GEA’s business volume on a time-proportionate basis in 2011. Their initial consolidation is expected between February and July.
Looking to the future, Oleas believes that “Our revenue will continue to increase in fiscal year 2012 as against 2011. In 2012, when all restructuring measures will have taken full effect, we are expecting additional increases in both earnings and the EBIT margin. We expect all segments to contribute to this positive development.”
GEA’s policy is to distribute one-third of the group’s earnings as a dividend. The distribution of EUR 0.40 which has been proposed for the past fiscal year is in fact significantly in excess of this.
Other news from the department business & finance
Get the chemical industry in your inbox
From now on, don't miss a thing: Our newsletter for the chemical industry, analytics, lab technology and process engineering brings you up to date every Tuesday and Thursday. The latest industry news, product highlights and innovations - compact and easy to understand in your inbox. Researched by us so you don't have to.
