TÜV SÜD set for growth: record revenue and earnings in 2012
Annual results press conference of Germany's largest TÜV organisation
Munich (ots)
- Figures for fiscal 2012: revenue of EUR 1.82 billion and
earnings of EUR 163 million (adjusted EBIT)
- Global player: clear increase in revenue generated abroad /
1,600 new employees worldwide
- Investment in key challenges of tomorrow: food safety, wind
power and data security
- Sustainable growth dynamics: technical services provider to
employ around 20,000 staff by the end of 2013TÜV SÜD grew considerably in 2012, reaching new record levels in revenue, earnings and headcount. In fiscal 2012, the technical services company increased its revenue by almost 9 per cent to EUR 1.82 billion (2011: EUR 1.68 billion); earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT margin) also rose year-on-year by 9.2 per cent to EUR 163 million (2011: EUR 149 million). The number of people working for the largest German TÜV organisation also grew worldwide by 1,600 to a total current headcount of almost 19,000.
"2012 proved an excellent year for TÜV SÜD, marked by strong growth, and we intend to continue on our growth path in 2013!" emphasised Dr Axel Stepken, Chairman of the Board of TÜV SÜD AG, at the company's annual results press conference in Munich. TÜV SÜD's sustainable growth will enable the company to create another 1000-plus new jobs in 2013, as it has done in the past seven years since 2005.
Global acquisitions: in 2012 TÜV SÜD acquired a dozen companies from eight different countries
Strong growth abroad is resulting in increasing internationalisation of the largest German TÜV organisation - today, 45 per cent of its staff work abroad. In this context, the company benefits not least from acquisitions. In 2012 TÜV SÜD acquired around a dozen companies in China, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Italy, the UK, Belgium and Germany. Acquisition of international companies is also on the agenda in 2013; TÜV SÜD has already acquired six further companies since January.
Global player: revenue abroad is growing three times as much as in Germany
In 2012 all segments of TÜV SÜD contributed to the company's positive development: The INDUSTRY segment recorded an increase in revenue of more than 9 per cent to EUR 725 million, in the MOBILITY segment revenue rose by roughly 6 per cent to EUR 626 million, and the CERTIFICATION segment proved the strongest growth driver, with a year-on-year increase in revenue of almost 12 per cent to its current level of EUR 467 million. "International business continues to be our growth driver - and we are turning into a global player at an increasing rate. In 2012 our revenue generated abroad grew by EUR 106 million, almost three times as much as in Germany", emphasised Stepken, and noted that TÜV SÜD generated 38 per cent of its revenue outside Germany, 3 per cent up from the prior-year figure.
Record investments of EUR 72 million - in areas including data security services
With spending of EUR 72 million (excluding acquisitions; prior-year figure EUR 64 million), the company's investment volume also reached a new record level, up 11 per cent from the previous year. As the backdrop to this record investment volume, TÜV SÜD is significantly expanding its commitment to challenges of the future including food safety, energy supply and metro systems.
Another focal topic: "Data security will be one of the key growth sectors of our company over the next years", emphasised Stepken. Today, data leaks and malicious attacks can jeopardise almost any business model in the blink of an eye. TÜV SÜD's strategy in this field is to expand existing services while also positioning itself in new fields at an early stage.
In line with this, Germany's largest TÜV organisation will further expand its already successful services related to e-commerce, data protection and penetration tests, and establish a new subsidiary for this purpose - TÜV SÜD Sec-IT. In addition, in mid-2012 TÜV SÜD acquired Acertigo AG, gaining a team of specialists that focuses on data security for credit card holders.
TÜV SÜD is also setting its sights on new data security services in industry as networking of installations, machinery and systems increases and the consequences of the associated risk of malicious attacks become even more far-reaching in the future. Two years ago, the international technical services company established the Embedded Systems unit, which focuses on the development of solutions for networked environments in industry and the energy sector. In its new laboratory in Munich, the unit tests areas such as whether smart grid devices are protected against espionage and sabotage. The company is also working on new security products for cloud computing, telematics, smart factories and mobile payment.
Expansion in Brazil, Italy and India: safe food around the globe
Supplying the growing world population with safe and healthy food and water is another critical challenge of the future. Repeated food scares and product recalls have moved the necessity of stricter food safety requirements into the focus of public interest in many countries.
Given this, TÜV SÜD has significantly expanded its commitment in this field. For example, in the last six months the service provider acquired two high-tech laboratories in Brazil and Northern Italy with over 100 staff and opened a new laboratory for food and textile testing near the Indian capital New Delhi. Given this, the company today provides food safety and food hygiene inspection services in a total of 25 countries - and rising.
Future energy supply: focus on plant safety and reliability
In 2012 TÜV SÜD also had the wind behind it in the field of renewables, significantly increasing its capacities in the field of wind power by acquiring a British specialist service provider and achieving continued organic growth. On behalf of the German states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Hesse, TÜV SÜD's wind-power experts developed maps of the state-wide wind resource potential which are used as a basis for the expansion of wind power in these German states. But TÜV SÜD also contributes its energy expertise to research projects such as the joint project ADELE-ING, aimed at developing a compressed-air energy system for storing excess power from renewable sources.
"TÜV SÜD ensures the safety and reliability of new technologies", said Karsten Xander, Member of the Board of Management of TÜV SÜD AG. "Given this, we advocate the inclusion of renewable power plants in the list of installations subject to monitoring, to ensure that they also will have to be tested and inspected at regular intervals in the future."
After all, the plant safety report published by VdTÜV, the umbrella organisation of German TÜV organisations, demonstrated that third- party inspections are the only way to ensure timely detection and correction of dangerous defects. "Third-party testing of plants and installations protects the people in our country and has become firmly established as a part of German safety culture - and thus as a role model for many countries throughout the world", continued Xander.
Strategically expanded: complete service portfolio for real estate
In the real estate division, TÜV SÜD is pursuing a fully rounded service portfolio. "By adding specific testing and inspection services to complement our service portfolio, we are establishing ideal conditions to support our clients in the real-estate sector throughout the value chain", explained the Member of the Board of Management of TÜV SÜD. The company has consistently implemented this strategy since 2011, acquiring four prestigious real-estate service providers in the UK, South Africa and Germany. Another focal topic in the real estate sector is sustainability. The carbon footprint and sustainability of a building are critical factors for the long- term development of its value.
Rail services: high demand in metro projects
In 2012 TÜV SÜD consistently expanded its rail services, particularly satisfying the high demand for assessment services within the scope of metro projects in the rapidly growing cities of Asia and Latin America. The technical services provider specifically strengthened its service portfolio in this field through acquisitions in China and Germany in 2012. Both companies contribute extensive global expertise in metro projects.
Safe mobility: around 12 million roadworthiness tests worldwide / expansion of business in Turkey
TÜV SÜD also reports growth in the MOBILITY segment in 2012, where the service provider worked with partners to perform around 12 million roadworthiness tests. This positive development is not least due to the significant rise in the number of roadworthiness tests in Germany. With over 5.3 million roadworthiness tests, a year-on-year increase of around 300,000, TÜV SÜD leads by a wide margin over all other TÜV organisations. Member of the Board of Management Horst Schneider attributed this massive rise to the 2009 scrappage scheme, which resulted in a large number of vehicles due for their first roadworthiness test last year.
TÜV SÜD's operations in Turkey are a particular success story quoted by Schneider. Last year, the number of vehicle inspections performed there rose to 6.3 million, around 200,000 more than in the year before - a new record for the land stretching from Ararat to the Bosphorus. Schneider also announced, "By establishing a new affiliate, we will further expand our position in Turkey." Together with its long-standing partner Dogus, TÜV SÜD plans to offer pre- purchase assessments for used cars in Turkey in this year with further services in Turkey to follow.
Following a 100 % acquisition in 2012, the international service provider can also look back on success in fleet management. Today, TÜV SÜD provides fleet management services to over 100,000 vehicles, making it one of the largest provider of fleet services on our continent.
Success story: TÜV SÜD's strategy in the field of electromobility
In 2012 TÜV SÜD made a significant step towards reaching its ambitious goal of becoming the global leading services provider in the field of electromobility, underlined Horst Schneider. Continued expansion of its international network of testing laboratories for high-voltage batteries played a central role in this context. With testing laboratories in the USA, Canada, Singapore, China, Korea and Germany, from 2013 the testing services company will have a total of six centres supporting clients by testing batteries in accordance with standardised criteria. "Our strategy of aiming for internationalisation in high-voltage system testing right from the start has proved successful. Today, we are in high demand as a partner of industry, setting standards throughout Europe in particular through our battery testing centre in Garching. This also increasingly applies to the testing of components for hybrid vehicles", says Schneider.
Job engine: around 20,000 employees by late December 2013
TÜV SÜD will continue to grow and create new jobs in 2013. Chairman of the Board of Management Dr Axel Stepken announces, "By the end of 2013, we will employ around 20,000 staff worldwide!". The company has got off to an excellent start in fiscal 2013 and will record similar growth this year as in previous years. TÜV SÜD has set its sights on exceeding the revenue threshold of EUR 2 billion as its engineering expertise is in high demand at present throughout the world.
Note for editorial staff: Photos can be found in printable resolution in the "Media photos" category www.tuv-sud.com/pressphotos.
Further press material: This subject is also addressed in a podcast. The final broadcast/original speech held by Dr Axel Stepken will be available for download from 4 pm www.tuev-sued.de/audio-pr.
TÜV SÜD is an international leading technical service organisation catering to the INDUSTRY, MOBILITY and CERTIFICATION Segment. The experts and technology consultants are dedicated partners in their clients' processes, offering comprehensive industry expertise throughout the entire value chain. They focus their services on their core competencies of consulting, testing, certification and training. About 19,000 employees are committed to optimizing technology, systems and know-how at over 800 locations in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa. Further information is available at www.tuv-sud.com.
Media Relations:
Matthias Andreesen Viegas
TÜV SÜD AG
Corporate Communications
Westendstr. 199, 80686 Munich
Tel. +49 (0) 89 / 57 91 - 1613
Fax +49 (0) 89 / 57 91 - 2224
Email matthias.andreesen@tuev-sued.de
Internet www.tuev-sued.de
Original content of: TÜV SÜD AG, transmitted by news aktuell