Given the ongoing strong growth of the world steel industry and judicious strategic decisions made in the past which have transformed Paul Wurth into a global solution provider, the year 2006 was marked by important commercial successes for projects of unparalleled size.
Large-scale projects
The key event of the year was ThyssenKrupp Steel’s order for three complete blast furnaces, one of which for its mill in Duisburg-Hamborn in
Another key commercial event was the order for a Primus® installation in
Having expanded its technology portfolio in 2005 to coking plants, Paul Wurth received at the beginning of 2007 an order from GAL Zentralkokerei Saar for two coke batteries serving the Dillinger Hütte site, the first reference won under the Paul Wurth name.
Reinforcement of the Group
The extension of the Group’s competences further continued in early 2007 with the creation of Paul Wurth Automation in
As a result of the need to adapt the organisation to the major upsurge in activity and to prepare for the timely transfer of Paul Wurth’s accumulated know-how, a number of companies in the Group conducted a major recruitment drive in 2006. With the number in staff increasing by around 9%, the Paul Wurth Group employs today about 1.200 people worldwide. This partial renewal of the teams was accompanied by the organisation of a number of induction courses, in particular on health and safety issues.
The reinforcement of the teams also concerned the Civil Construction division, specialized in the management of projects and construction sites, mainly in
The results of the year 2006
The consolidated turnover of the Group for the year 2006 rose by 16.9% to a record of 341.6 million euros (292.1 million euros for 2005). In particular, the strong growth of the operating results to 17.8 million euros allowed to almost double the net consolidated profit to 20.0 million euros (10.1 million euros in 2005).
As main indicator of the growth in the Group’s activities and evidence of Paul Wurth’s transformation into a builder of complete plants, the level of new orders reached in 2006 the amount of 720.5 million euros, i.e. 48.6% higher than new business earned in 2005 (484.9 million euros).
From a geographical point of view and as a result of the aforementioned orders from
Given these good results, the General Meeting approved the payment of a gross dividend of 200 euros per share on account of the 2006 financial year.
Optimistic outlook
Besides a full order book guaranteeing a full workload beyond 2007, the prospect of substantial investments ahead by the Indian and other emerging countries’ steel industry allows Paul Wurth to be optimistic on its short-term commercial and financial evolution. The more mature Western markets will also contribute to the positive business development.
Although the cyclicality of the steel industry is softened by the current trend towards concentration of the different market participants, this feature of the industry tempers mid-term expectations. Therefore, the preservation of its competitiveness and technological lead is an absolute necessity for a company like Paul Wurth, exposed continuously to international competition.
Past and present R&D efforts will also not fail to pay off. These works mainly focus on cokemaking, Primus® technology as well as on new research areas, such as the production of hot metal using non-coking coal. With global warming in mind and conscious of the potential impact that this could have on industry and steelmakers in particular, Paul Wurth also carries out research on reduction of carbon dioxide emissions generated during the production of iron.
Finally, the active promotion of Health and Safety corporate values within the Group as well as towards customers will contribute to perpetuate Paul Wurth’s reputation.
PAUL WURTH S.A. • 32, rue d’Alsace • P.O. Box. 2233 • L-1022 Luxembourg
Tel. : (+352) 4970-1 • Fax : (+352) 4970-2209
• www.paulwurth.com