- Revenue of €6.8 billion, up 25% year-on-year and now ahead of pre-recessionary levels
- Strong recovery in EBITDA to €292 million with margins driven by a broad program of initiatives
- Debt managed to extend maturities, increase liquidity.
Commenting on the results, John Pattullo, CEO said: “I’m delighted with the progress made across the Group in 2010. After a challenging start to the year, we have focused relentlessly on business basics and on driving a series of transformational projects.
“We have a well defined operating model, a clear plan for future growth and have established good momentum as we enter 2011. We are confident that we will continue to grow both revenue and profit in the coming months.”
Year and Fourth Quarter ended 31 December 2010
Key Financials at actual exchange rates
| € millions | 2010 | 2009 | Change | Q4 2010 | Q4 2009 | Change |
| Revenue | 6,847 | 5,494 | 25% | 1,800 | 1,481 | 22% |
| EBITDA before specific items1 | 292 | 233 | 25% | 89 | 66 | 35% |
1EBITDA excludes the impact of specific items which are significant non-recurring items such as restructuring, integration costs, and certain legal expenses.
Overview of results
The strong momentum established in the Third Quarter continued with Quarter Four revenue up by 22% on the prior year and EBITDA up by 35%. As a result we ended the year with Full Year revenue up by 25% at €6.8 billion and EBITDA up by 25% at €292 million. This represents a significant step forward for the Group following the precipitous falls in global logistics markets in late 2008 due to the financial crisis. Fourth Quarter revenue and EBITDA were well above 2008 levels (which were €1.6 billion and €58 million); up 15% and 53%, respectively.
Our progress builds on general market recovery where activity levels have now recovered to pre-recession levels together with our comprehensive program of initiatives to deliver sustainable reductions in cost, efficiency increases and margin improvement. There were four major projects in 2010:
- Program UNO – standardizing business processes across our Freight Management operations
- Finance – outsourcing back office finance and transforming finance processes
- Leveraging FM network – centralizing procurement, capacity management and control of key operations
- Debt management – improving our maturity profile and liquidity.
Review of Operations
Geographically we have delivered good results around the world, particularly in Asia Pacific and the Americas, both regions benefitting from actions to strengthen and grow our business. The Asia Pacific region was driven by strong performance in China and our joint venture in the automotive sector alone contributed €94 million to the Group’s revenue. We also expanded our relationship with one of the world’s largest cosmetics and beauty companies in Indonesia and India.
Growth in the Americas was broad-based. A robust performance in the automotive sector underpinned good growth in Contract Logistics and we made excellent progress in Freight Management. We managed the global supply chain associated with two of the biggest product launches ahead of the Christmas holiday season for one of our multinational technology customers.
In Northern Europe revenue was above 2009 levels but economic recovery lagged somewhat as Europe encountered the Iceland volcanic ash cloud, the repercussions of cargo security threats and a particularly harsh early winter snowfall. Despite these factors we made quarter on quarter improvements in EBITDA as our program of initiatives gathered pace across the Region. During the year we made important progress in Healthcare, winning our first contract in the Czech Republic and we were selected to manage the first of four Multi-Market Warehouses for a global pharma company.
2010 was a milestone year in the SEMEA region as we diversified revenues significantly. New business wins increased 60%, reinforcing our market leadership in Italy, where we entered the Pharmaceutical market through an acquisition in June, and contributing to us becoming number one in the Turkish logistics market where we doubled our revenue. We expect emerging markets to continue to play a key role in our development in this region.
Financial review
Our financial performance improved significantly in 2010. We delivered better earnings, improved margins and enhanced liquidity driven by our ongoing focus on the programs described above and delivered considerable cost savings in 2010. These programs will continue in 2011. We have adequate headroom to fund both our daily operations and continued growth ambitions.
During the year we refinanced a major portion of our debt, with much of it now maturing in 2017 and 2018. Over the past 18 months we have reduced our debt due by the end of 2014 by over 70%. We have also added a new US$250 million borrowing facility at attractive rates.
Outlook
With markets now recovering around the world, we are pleased to be entering 2011 with a strong business model, a clear plan for future growth and with good momentum. We are confident that we will continue to grow both revenue and profit in the coming months.
For more information contact:
CEVA Group Marketing & Communications
Rebecca Salt
+44 7795 314010
[email protected]
