GfK Income and Margins Pass Previous Best

For the financial year 2010, GfK has reported an 11.1% rise in income to a record EUR 1.29 billion. Adjusted operating income climbed from EUR 147.2m to EUR 185.0m with operating margin also at a historical high, 14.3%.

CEO Professor Klaus Wübbenhorst (pictured) commented: '2010 was an excellent year for GfK and we have emerged from the crisis year of 2009 in a stronger position than before. Sales and income have reached new record values and the dividend will also be the highest in our company's history.'

During the period, consolidated income increased by 138% to EUR 84.0m, while the organic rise in sales amounted to 7.3%. Currency effects increased sales by 3.6%, and acquisitions added 0.2%.

All three GfK sectors increased their sales in 2010. Custom Research recorded the highest sales in the group - up 10.8% to EUR 785.6m, with 6.4 percentage points of this attributable to organic growth. GfK says increased business from clients in the automotive and financial sectors is a key factor driving this growth.

In the Retail and Technology division, sales increased by EUR 45.0m to EUR 370.8m, with organic growth accounting for 10.8 percentage points.

The Media division saw sales increase year-on-year by 5.3% to EUR 133.1m, with organic growth contributing 2.1 percentage points.

Across the firm's six regions, Germany recorded 13.1% sales growth to EUR 340.8m, while in Western Europe/Middle East/Africa, overall sales rose by 5.4% to EUR 483.0m. Central and Eastern Europe achieved sales totaling EUR 89.7m, compared with EUR 71.7m in the previous year.

In North America, GfK generated sales of EUR 219.3m, against EUR 207.2m in 2009. Latin America increased its sales by 39.5% to EUR 54.9m, and in Asia Pacific, sales broke the EUR 100m barrier for the first time, rising 22.5% to EUR 106.5m.

At the end of financial year 2010, the number of employees in the Group had increased 4.9% to 10,546.

At the AGM taking place on May 26, 2011, the Supervisory and Management Boards will be proposing a dividend pay-out amounting to EUR 0.48 per no-par share for financial year 2010.

In terms of R&D, GfK is currently focusing on expanding its range of digital media measurement services. In 2010, its Custom Research sector, in partnership with SirValUse and nurago, developed a number of tools to analyse the influence of the Internet on purchase decisions and brand perception. For example, GfK MarketObsurvey.dx was launched to enable the analysis of the online behavior of specific target groups using both qual and quant data from monitoring and surveys.

In the Media sector the firm launched the Universal Meter System (UMS), which combines different technologies to record all electronic types of media consumption.

Finally, in the Retail and Technology sector, GfK is focusing on analyzing Internet usage on mobile networks, using the newly launched GfK Network Intelligence Solution (GfK NIS), which monitors mobile Internet behavior and exposure to ad campaigns in real-time.

Web site: www.gfk.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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