Good Half-yearly Result at GfK

In the first six months of 2002, the GfK Group increased its sales by 17.7 per cent from EUR 225.3 million in the same period in the previous year to EUR 265.1 million. EBIT including income from participations rose from EUR 8.5 million to EUR 19.1 million, while consolidated total income before minority interests increased from EUR 2.6 million to EUR 10.2 million.

Three factors are responsible for the sharp rise in group total income: efficiency-increasing optimization measures, stringent management of costs and the effects of converting the Group`s accounting to the American US GAAP standard.

Overall the four business divisions enjoyed satisfactory growth in the period concerned. In essence, the Consumer Tracking division maintained its sales volume compared with the same six months in the previous year. Good growth abroad compensated almost entirely for stagnating sales in Germany. The effects of restructuring measures and the switch to the uniform production system aTRACKtive led to positive total income.

In the Non-Food Tracking division, sales rose by 7.6 per cent. In the Media division, both sales and operating income enjoyed double-digit growth. The increase is based on two factors: on the sales and income contributions of the Intomart Benelux Group, Netherlands, which was consolidated for the first time under US GAAP in the first half of 2002 and the Telecontrol Group, Switzerland, and Metris, Portugal, which were consolidated for the first time on 1 July 2001. System business, that is long-term television and radio research contracts, developed well and accounted for 70 per cent of sales. The outlook for Radiocontrol, an electronic device for measuring radio consumption, is positive. On the other hand, growth in short-term services, which have been adversely affected by the difficult economic situation in print media, has only been moderate.

Sales and operating income for the Ad Hoc Research division were virtually on target. The sharp increase in sales to EUR 119.3 million and significant rise in operating income to EUR 6.2 million were essentially due to the following factors: to the newly consolidated companies GfK Macon, Germany, and Martin Hamblin GfK, United Kingdom, to the impact of converting to US GAAP and to a series of optimization measures.

Despite a difficult environment overall GfK achieved good sales growth in the individual regions. In Germany, GfK achieved a slight increase in sales despite the country`s weak economic growth. Two factors affected growth in particular: reticence on the part of publishers to place orders in the print media segment and the fact that GfK Data Services no longer collects data for third parties. Meanwhile, in Northern Europe, the first-time consolidation of Martin Hamblin GfK, United Kingdom, accounted for a substantial share of the 25.4 per cent growth in sales. The restructuring of business in Scandinavia proceeded well.

The strong growth in sales in Western and Southern Europe of 36.8 per cent to EUR 92.7 million is due among other factors to the consolidation of the four companies already mentioned above that were not included in the scope of consolidation in the same period of the previous year under US GAAP and the fact that the Telecontrol Group, Switzerland, and Metris, Portugal, which have been consolidated since 1 July 2001 and 1 January 2002 respectively, were included for the first time in the first half of 2002. Organic growth in the region amounted to 3.4 per cent.

In the Central and Eastern Europeand and Asia/Pacific regions, growth was almost exclusively organic. Adverse exchange effects affected growth. Without the impact of exchange rate fluctuations growth would have been twice as high in Asia and the Pacific.

In North, Central and South America, around half of the increase in sales of almost 23.4 per cent to EUR 21.7 million is attributable to organic growth by the subsidiary GfK Custom Research and the other half to the sales of Martin Hamblin GfK HealthCare USA, which operates in the pharmaceuticals sector and has been consolidated for the first time. Negative movements in exchange rates reduced sales growth by some six per cent.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.