Marel has reported strong second quarter results and a healthy order book. Revenues for Q2 2010 from core business totalled €136.1 million ($177.9 million), an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous quarter and 26.9% compared to Q2 2009.
For the second quarter in a row, the company delivered on its long‐term target of a 10‐12% return on revenues.
It is expected that the Q3 results will be marked by the summer holiday period, when business activity is traditionally at a lower level. However, Marel fully expects to reach its target of 10‐12% return on revenues for the year as a whole.
The processing equipment manufacturer said the order book continues to grow as a result of improved market conditions and was €125.3 million ($163.8 million) at the end of the quarter [Q2 2009: €76.1 million ($99.5 million)].
For the first six months of 2010, revenues from core business totalled €264.9 million ($346.2 million), up from €210.4 million ($275 million) reported in the first half of 2009.
Operating profit (EBIT) from core business totalled €30.3 million ($39.6 million) for the first half of the year, up from €4.8 million ($6.3 million) recorded in the same period of 2009.
Company CEO Theo Hoen, said Marel had achieved its long‐term return on sales (ROS) target of 10‐12% for the second quarter in a row, thanks to the company’s strict focus on cost control and its strong position in a recovering and growing market.
“We believe that this level of performance is sustainable and can serve as the baseline for further growth moving forward. Our challenge now is to reinforce the company’s position as market leader and, at the same time, to increase profitability. The underlying demand in the food industry is rising and automation is increasing at a robust rate in developing countries such as China. What’s more, we are benefitting from our strategy of having sustained our level of investment in innovation throughout the crisis.
“Our product development pipeline shows a healthy number of new projects in progress and I am proud of the success we have had with our latest innovations.
“Furthermore, new integrated solutions that combine the technologies of the different business units in our group are clearly creating more value for our customers and contributing nicely to our Q2 results. I feel that we are well on our way to creating a healthy and sustainable company that will play a major role in the protein industry for many years to come,” said Hoen.
Marel’s core business focuses on four industry segments: fish, meat, poultry and further processing.
Prospects in the fish industry remain good, particularly in the salmon and aquaculture segments, said Marel.
In April, the equipment manufacturer participated in the annual Seafood Processing Europe (SPE) exhibition in Brussels, for the first time at a fish industry show it presented its range of Townsend equipment aimed at the further processing sector.
With the addition of the Townsend Further Processing range to the product portfolio for the fish industry, Marel claims its offering now spans “virtually the entire value chain”, from catch to packaged end product.
“In other areas, the growing trend toward sustainably sourced seafood is already generating a lot of opportunities and is expected to have even more impact in the future,” the company said.
