With an increase in sales of 11 percent to 5.260 billion euros (previous year: 4.731 billion euros), the Group’s EBIT (operating result before restructuring and non-recurring expenses/income) improved by 45 percent to 527 million euros (previous year: 364 million euros). The return on sales rose from 7.7 percent to 10.0 percent.
As scheduled, considerable restructuring measures were again implemented in 2000. With a net expense of 126 million euros (previous year: 273 million euros), earnings after restructuring amounted to 401 million euros (previous year: 91 million euros). The Group’s net result was 169 million euros (previous year: 14 million euros).
We clearly exceeded our targets for the year 2000, said the Group’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Klaus Seeger. Among the targets were for Group sales to cross the 5 billion euros mark, to achieve an EBIT of 500 million euros, and to post double-digit growth in the net result compared to the reference year of 1998. In that year, the figure was 140 million euros, and in 2000 it was exceeded by 21 percent.
Another of Agfa’s targets was to achieve Profitable growth, a target that was reached convincingly – and not only in 2000. In fact, a look at the development over the last four years shows that the company has increased its sales by 1.5 billion euros since 1996 (up 40 percent), and also succeeded in improving its EBIT by 101 percent. Earnings have thus risen more than twice as fast as sales.
The growth engine is still the so-called New digital solutions. Here, sales rose in 2000 by 61 percent to 1.146 billion euros. The target was 1 billion euros. By New digital solutions Agfa means the future-oriented system solutions from all the business segments. In fact, 22 percent of Group sales now come from this sector, while only two years ago the figure was just 12 percent. Agfa’s excellent position in these future markets is underscored by the fact that Agfa is nearly always number one or number two on the world market.
The pleasing picture for the Group is underlined by the fact that every one of the three business segments achieved further growth. Sales were up in all three – Graphic Systems, Technical Imaging and Consumer Imaging – but above all, there was also a very considerable improvement in the EBIT in all three business segments: up 34 percent in Graphic Systems, up 44 percent in Technical Imaging and up by as much as 69 percent in Consumer Imaging.
Our portfolio has again shifted towards the higher margin businesses said Dr. Seeger.
The share of Technical Imaging in Group sales rose to 33 percent (previous year: 29 percent), with a return on sales of 15.1 percent (previous year: 13,3 percent). Technical Imaging posted sales of 1.708 billion euros (up 26 percent) and an EBIT of 259 million euros (up 44 percent).
The biggest business segment continues to be Graphic Systems with a 39 percent share of sales (previous year: 41 percent). Graphic Systems had sales in 2000 of 2.065 billion euros (up 6 percent) and an EBIT of 163 million euros (up 34 percent). Without the Digital Printing unit which was transferred to Xeikon in the middle of the year, the EBIT was actually 185 million euros or 37 percent above the previous year’s figure. The return on sales rose from 7.2 percent to 9.1 percent in continuing operations.
