Langbroek, October 27, 2011
In the third quarter of 2011, the activities of Aalberts
Industries developed well thanks to the solid order
position, the active market approach associated with
product launches and the start of various investment
projects. Also a lot of attention was paid to the
continuous improvement of efficiency.
Industrial Services
The market trend of the first half year continued in almost
all markets with the exception of the semiconductor market,
which slowed down in the third quarter. Partly due to the
continued expansion investments at different customers, the
automotive market continued the good trend. The precision
mechanical engineering and the turbine industry also
remained favourable, while the metal & electro, energy and
defence markets showed a similar picture with the first
half year.
The investment projects in the United States, Poland, India
and China have further been developed and implemented.
Industrial Services was able to strengthen the market
position in surface treatment technologies in France,
Germany and Eastern Europe with the acquisition of DEC and
Galvanotechnik Baum with a combined annual revenue of
EUR 30 million and approximately 345 employees.
Flow Control
The markets for Flow Control showed a persistent mixed
picture. There were positive trends in the field of
district heating, gas, beer & soft drinks, fire protection,
energy-efficiency systems and in various industrial
markets. Also, the activities relating to renovation,
maintenance and commercial buildings were in line with the
first half year; the newbuild market remained challenging.
The activity level in Germany and France developed well. In
Eastern Europe the favourable trend continued, particularly
in the area of district heating, gas and plastic piping
systems. Also the Scandinavian market remained in line with
the first six months. In the Benelux and the United Kingdom
conditions were challenging. The different industrial
markets in the United States were good. Spain, Portugal and
Italy remained difficult.
Flow Control continued to intensify cross-selling,
innovation of existing and new products and key account
management.
Outlook
The combination of good developments in the first nine
months, the solid order position, an active market
approach and continuously striving for efficiency
improvement will lead according to expectations to an
increase in revenue and earnings per share for the whole of
2011 - barring unforeseen circumstances.
Solid balance sheet ratios remain maintained due to the
continuing strong focus on profitability and the control of
working capital and costs.