R&M posts stronger results in fiscal year 2008

R&M closed the fiscal year with sales of $219m, a figure 2.2% higher than in 2007.

R&M is one of the world's leading cable specialists. It is represented on all five continents with 30 marketing organizations.

After a strong growth phase lasting from 2002 to mid-2008, business at R&M began to feel the first effects of the financial crisis around the middle of the year.

Despite the recession, sales increased over the previous year by 2.2% to $219m, yet were still short of expectations. EBIT amounted to 8% at the end of 2008 but fell to 7% after the company made a voluntary contribution to the retirement fund to put it on a more solid footing. EBIT has averaged 10% over the past five years and confirms the solid growth the company has achieved.

Jean Pierre, Managing Director of R&M Middle East & Africa, commented:

"R&M has consistently pushed its internationalization strategy over the last ten years and further strengthened its position on international markets in 2008. The company has emerged as one of the top three players in Europe and the Middle East. It generates 78% of its sales abroad."

The Middle East saw an increase of 63.4% growth during the year, along with other major success in other regions across the world such as Germany and Latin America.

Two thirds of total sales were made with structured building cabling (Private Networks). This segment has declined slightly since 2008. Higher sales (plus 18%) in telecom (Public Networks) helped R&M to prevent a sales decline in the group as a whole. Growth in this segment is largely attributable to fiber optic projects.

Switzerland, the company's home market, came increasingly under pressure in 2008. R&M felt the direct effects of smaller volume orders from large-scale projects and restrained investment in the banking and financial sectors and increasingly in other sectors as well. Major customers deferred investments. R&M partially offset this decline in orders with transactions in Private Networks, but still posted a decrease of 10.5%.

"It is important to focus and invest in the right projects to keep the company firmly positioned in the market even in difficult times. R&M is concurrently taking the necessary steps to cut costs. With its solid equity base, R&M can continue the initiated growth strategy even in weaker years and emerge all the stronger from the crisis," Added Labry

Fiber optic technology is a focal point of investment. R&M assumes this segment will be more resistant to the crisis than other segments and plans to increase its investment in the development of new FO product solutions by 10% in 2009. As such, R&M is meeting the requirements of the international market and living up to its claim as innovation leader. Twenty percent of total sales are achieved with products less than three years old.

R&M is also investing in decentralization. The first management and logistics hub that was recently opened in Singapore will be followed over the next two years by four hubs in other regions. These hubs will allow the R&M sales regions to provide their customers with even better logistics services.