PFISTERER Group Annual Report 2009
In the last business year the global economy experienced the most severe setback of the post-war period – driven by the so-called "financial crisis" in 2008, which developed to become a worldwide economic crisis. In Germany the worldwide weak demand led to a historically unique decline of exports and investments in plant and equipment. The general expectationsfor 2010 are accordingly subdued: for 2010, the German Council of Economic Experts expects a GDP growth of 1.6 % in Germany;the expected recovery of the global economy will also have a less dynamic course in the medium term.
The PFISTERER-Group could not entirely elude these massive impacts in the economic environment either. In particular, individual regions, which presented themselves as growth markets in the previous years, e.g. Dubai and Russia, experienced considerable drops in sales. Due to the broad geographic coverage of the PFISTERER-Group and the long project terms typical of our sector, the (consolidated) sales of the group decreased by only 1.5 %. In addition to business segments which were somewhat affected by the recessionary development, there were also business segments that, contrary to external predictions, exhibited growth. In retrospect, the view proved true that the power industry fortunately tends towards a long-term orientation and is thus not affected that extremely by short-term cycles in the global economy.
Nevertheless, 2009 was characterised by the challenge of constant adaptations to the changing market conditions on the one hand; on the other hand, the companies of the PFISTERER-Group used the year to prepare themselves for the future. By putting the high-voltage laboratory in Winterbach into service, Pfisterer is underlining its technical competence in the field of high-voltage cable technology; we would like to provide you with a deeper insight into our R&D activities on pages 10 and 11. New models of the IXOSIL joints and cable terminations, the tensioning system Tensorex C+ and new products in the field of transformer termination technology are examples of the continuation of the innovative product policy of the previous years. By extending the production capacity at the branches in Malters (CH) and Pietermaritzburg (SA), we are also preparing ourselves for further growth.
In our opinion, the fundamental data of the medium and long-term development of our sector are still the same; the worldwide demand for electric power will continue to increase. Thus, investments in the energy infrastructure will rise too. Necessary replacement investments and network extensions to integrate sources for generating renewable energy will further support the trend of worldwide investments in electricity networks. The demand for electric power for electric driven automobiles is bound to increase considerably,providing a further investment boost in the long term. In view of the necessity of a global presence, we will provide you with an overview of the current structure of our sales department as the interface to our customers on pages 14 and 15.
In spite of all confidence for the future, we are still sceptical about whether the eruptions of the global economic crises are completely over. Therefore, we are preparing ourselves for a challenging business yearin 2010, which will be similar demanding as the previous business year 2009.
At the end of last year, Dr. Roland Walthert resigned from his office as Chairman of the Supervisory Boardof PFISTERER Holding AG. We would like to thank Dr. Walthert for the years of his successful tenure of office and wish him all the best for the future. Until the General Meeting 2010, the office of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board is held by Mr Manfred W. Grässel.
We hope you enjoy your read.
Management Board and Supervisory Board |
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