Vanderlande Industries’ (automated material handling systems) results are in-line with the long-term objective of building further on its strong reputation as a reliable partner with leading market positions.
The company achieved net sales of €656 million in the financial year ending 31 March 2009, an increase of 7% over last year. Order intake also increased by 7% to €615 million, while net income increased by 4% to €35.3 million. The order book of €750 million provides a solid base for the coming years. The number of employees rose by 201 to 1,943 (up 12%), mainly due to the opening of a new subsidiary in India and the extension of services activities.
Michiel Peters, president and CEO of Vanderlande Industries, said: “We have had a good year in which we delivered projects and services around the globe, to the satisfaction of our customers. We have also been successful in terms of new product launches, order intake and market share.
“Our order intake was satisfactory in view of the economic downturn, which is having an impact on our industry. Our balanced portfolio with activities in a range of regions and markets proved to be valuable. As a result our order book and our pipeline of potential orders are strong, which provides a solid basis for the coming years.
“Baggage handling, our largest activity, is moderately sensitive to the economic downturn. We succeeded in obtaining more orders from customers around the globe than in the previous year.
The distribution business is clearly affected by the economy, but we were able to partly compensate for the effects by enlarging our geographical scope in Europe.
The parcel and postal business is highly sensitive to the economic cycle, and the current downturn is no exception. The order intake is substantially lower but our market position remains strong.
“Our services activity grew once again as a result of the increase in our installed base and the structural trend to outsource service activities on new installations.
Our extensive global network of partners and subcontractors provides our company with resilience to currency fluctuations as well as giving us volume flexibility, which is very useful in the current volatile economic conditions.
“For our customers this results in competitive price levels and the assurance that projects managed by Vanderlande Industries will be completed even under unforeseen circumstances.
“Our reputation and financial stability were key factors in the recent decision of NPM Capital to increase its stake in our company. NPM Capital, which initially invested in our company in 1988, now holds 85% of our shares. We are truly pleased to have shareholders with such long-lasting loyalty to our company.
“We are confident that Vanderlande Industries will be able to further build on its reputation as a leading provider of automated material handling systems and related services in the coming financial year.”
Outlook: people and innovation key to future success
The company refrains from making predictions for the financial year 2010, but longer-term growth potential is seen in all segments. It is therefore continuing to develop and launch new products and system concepts in an industry that is driven by innovation, and in which not all players will be able to sustain the high level of investments needed for new developments.
The company’s strong competences in software and system integration have gradually become key success factors in these developments. We are continuing to recruit top talent for developing new products and delivering innovative customer projects. More specifically, software engineers and integration managers with a drive to win and a teamworking mindset are welcome to apply.