Belimo: Excellent financial year 2010
14.03.11 08:11

Belimo, a leading, innovative global technology company producing electrical actuator solutions for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, can look back on an excellent financial year 2010.

In Swiss francs, sales came to 426.4 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent, or 14.7 percent on a currency-adjusted basis. Operating income (EBIT) was CHF 83.2 million and the operating margin 19.5 percent. Despite negative currency movements, particularly in the euro, net income increased year-on-year by 24.5 percent to CHF 61.3 million. Earnings per share came to CHF 101.10 (previous year CHF 81.35). Return on equity (ROE) was 31.8 percent (previous year 30.6 percent), and the return on invested capital (ROIC) 36.1 percent (previous year 28.0 percent).

Cash flow from operating activities was virtually unchanged at CHF 66.7 million (previous year CHF 66.0 million), as was the free cash flow, which, at CHF 52.8 million in the reporting period, increased by 1.7 percent over the previous year. Overall, cash and cash equivalents were up year-on-year by CHF 30.8 million to CHF 67.3 million.

The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of CHF 55 per share to the Annual General Meeting on April 4, 2011.


Growth in all markets

Belimo achieved growth and gained market shares in all its markets. The markets of Eastern Europe, China and South America achieved the highest growth year-on-year, with rates of more than 20 percent. In Eastern Europe this was primarily due to a recovery following the crisis of 2009, while in China and South America, Belimo's extended market presence and the upturn in demand had a positive effect. Sales of air applications saw relatively strong growth in 2010, particularly to OEM customers.


Europe

The European markets recovered quickly from the downturn in 2009, with sales in local currencies increasing significantly by 15.4 percent. In addition to Eastern Europe, the contribution to growth from Germany, UK, France, Italy and Switzerland was particularly noteworthy. Austria, Norway and Dubai remained below expectations.


Americas

Sales in the US grew by 11.5 percent in local currencies despite the ongoing weakness of the market. Products for air and water applications contributed equally to that growth. Results at the subsidiaries in Canada and Brazil exceeded expectations. Belimo further expanded its presence in the Latin American region.


Asia/Pacific

After a slow start to 2010, the markets in Asia/Pacific developed in line with expectations, with sales in local currencies increasing by 23.4 percent. The market in China reported the highest growth, but Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Australia also developed positively. By expanding the sales organization and the existing customizing centers in Asia/Pacific, Belimo was able to extend and improve its range of services.

 
Innovation

The financial year was shaped by a variety of innovations: the new generation of spring-return actuators was well received by customers. In the area of water applications, we successfully launched the electronic pressure-independent control valve with flow sensor technology (EPIV), and, in collaboration with OEM customers, actuators with decentralized intelligence (Belimo SL) were used for the first time. Electronic energy storage devices, instead of mechanical solutions, enable the development of actuators for new applications.


Production, Customizing and Distribution

Global bottlenecks in the procurement of electronic components and plastic pellets presented Belimo with some challenges in 2010. Thanks to the commitment of everyone involved, Belimo was able to maintain its high delivery capability at all times. Production and assembly processes were continually improved, and the automation of further testing stations in Hinwil made it possible to increase efficiency, improve process security and reduce order lead time.


Outlook 2011

In 2011, Belimo will continue to pursue the goal of developing and offering actuator solutions which provide increased comfort and energy efficiency. The range of HVAC performance devices will be expanded in 2011. Actuators with decentralized intelligence (Belimo SL) provide a basis for additional growth. Although rising raw material prices and currency movements may have an impact on the margin.


The Belimo Group is a leading global manufacturer of innovative electrical actuator solutions for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. The Group generated sales of CHF 426 million in 2010 and employs more than 1100 people. Information regarding the company and its products is available on the Internet at www.belimo.com/investorrelations.
The shares of BELIMO Holding AG have been traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 1995 (BEAN).
 
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