Vanderlande has announced a record turnover of €988 million for the 2015 financial year, which is a significant increase of 25% from the corresponding figure of €790 million in 2014. In addition, the total order intake was a record amount of €1,035 million for the same period, representing an increase of 10%, compared to €938 million in 2014.
The turnover figure has increased due to the substantial growth in Vanderlande’s parcel and postal and warehouse automation (especially food retail and e-commerce) segments, as well as life-cycle services. The growth in new orders has also been relatively high in life-cycle services, which is partly due to the increasing level of digital technology required in the market. The order intake for the baggage handling segment is also higher than the previous financial year.
Vanderlande’s operational result (EBIT) of €25.3 million for the 2015 financial year was down from €36.1 million in 2014, a drop of 30% or a shift from 4.6% to 2.6% as a percentage of sales. This was caused by substantial losses incurred on parcel and postal projects sold in 2013 in North America. The root causes of this incident are known and the appropriate organisational and operational measures have been taken.
The company is growing quickly. The markets in which it operates are also expanding. Airports are increasing in size and welcoming greater numbers of passengers to create more complex demands for baggage handling. The warehouse automation and parcel and postal sectors are experiencing rapid growth due to the rise of e-commerce, a need to reduce costs and consolidate distribution networks.
"Overall, the 2015 financial year was positive in terms of the sales and order intake, and the level of profitability was good," says Govert Hamers, Vanderlande’s CEO. "In particular, the scale and importance of the orders are worthy of note, as well as the fact that it was a record amount in financial terms.
"The company’s rapid rate of growth is projected to continue by an average of 10% to 15% per annum in the years to come, which highlights the company’s excellent track record for reliability, commitment and long-term business relationships. Our aim is to provide our customers with value-added automated material handling solutions, so that they can continue to earn more and be increasingly competitive."