Nuremberg, 12 March 2013 – The implementation of the new Own the Future corporate strategy has started to bear fruit. In comparison with the previous year, GfK increased sales by 10.2 percent and adjusted operating income remained at the high level of €187.8 million. The Group clearly exceeded the sales growth target of 9 percent which was set for 2012. This improvement was attributable to strong organic growth of 3.1 percent compared to the industry overall. In the strategic growth region of Asia and the Pacific, sales increased by almost a third. As a result of a one-off provision, the consolidated total income is around €23.7 million lower than in the previous year, at €64.4 million. The 12.4 percent operating margin was within the forecast range. With this, GfK believes it is well equipped to continue its successful pursuit of the new strategic direction into the medium term.
Sales of the GfK Group increased by 10.2 percent from 2011’s figure to €1,514.7 million. This is markedly in excess of the growth target of 9 percent. Organic sales growth amounted to 3.1 percent.
At €64.4 million, the consolidated total income is around €23.7 million lower than in the previous year. This resulted from a one-off provision of €21 million in connection with irregularities and potential back-payments of taxes and social contributions in respect of the Turkish subsidiary GfK Arastirma Hizmetleri A.S.
While adjusted operating income virtually remained at the previous year’s level, at €187.8 million (2011: €187.7 million), the margin (adjusted operating income in relation to sales) fell from 13.7 percent in 2011 to 12.4 percent in 2012. It was therefore within the forecast range of between 12.2 percent and 12.7 percent. The temporary increase in overheads for the reorganization of the Group, expenditure on establishing new business potential, the strong expansion of business in Asia and a difficult market environment in a number of European countries have all impacted the margin.
The strategically important expansion of business in the Asia and the Pacific region developed particularly successfully. At 17.0 percent, organic growth once again exceeded the previous year, highlighting the growing importance of this region for the market research industry. In this region, GfK recorded sales totaling €155.0 million, corresponding to an increase of 29.7 percent. Acquisitions contributed to this growth with 5.1 percentage points, and currency effects added 7.6 percentage points.
The Supervisory and Management Boards will propose an unchanged dividend pay-out of €0.65 per share for the 2012 financial year at the Annual General Meeting on 17 May 2013.
“For GfK, last year was dominated by restructuring and digitization. We have successfully integrated and harmonized our product portfolio across all sectors and regions. With our focus on innovative digital services, especially in the field of mobile data, we have positioned ourselves excellently for the future,” summarized Matthias Hartmann, CEO of GfK SE.
Outlook
The Management Board of GfK is of the conviction that with its global presence and innovative portfolio the GfK Group is ideally placed to withstand any economic volatility. As a consequence, the Management Board is confident that GfK will again outperform the industry as a whole in 2013 and that it is well-positioned to gain further market shares.
In 2013, GfK will continue to use its best efforts to advance the optimization of the Group structure and to effectively implement the strategy. This is likely to have a positive impact on future business and, providing there is no further deterioration in the economic situation, GfK are anticipating organic growth of between 3 and 4 percent for 2013. In spite of the scheduled expenditure for the development of business, GfK have set the target of achieving an increase in the profit margin of around 13 percent above the previous year.
The year has begun as expected. By the end of January 2013, the order book already covered 36.2 percent of the anticipated annual sales (2011: 36.5 percent).
The GfK Group has set its sights on a sales volume amounting to between €1.9 and €2.0 billion by the end of 2015. New future acquisitions between 2013 and 2015 are expected to contribute a further €100 million. The profit margin is anticipated to be in the 15 percent to 16 percent range. The Consumer Choices sector is predicted to grow at a faster rate than the Consumer Experiences sector.
About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with more than 12,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2012, GfK’s sales amounted to €1.51 billion.
To find out more, visit www.gfk.com