sia Abrasives with double-digit sales growth (15/05/2002)
AGM approves all proposals - new member joins Board of Directors
sia Abrasives got off to a flying start in the current business year: in comparison with the same period last year, consolidated sales during the opening four months of 2002 climbed by some 13% while the number of incoming orders rose by some 15%. Orders on hand at the end of April 2002 were some 20% up on year-back figures. In addition to internal growth, further sales potential is also expected to result from strategic acquisitions. The Annual Meeting of Stockholders approved all the Board’s proposals and elected former Saurer CFO Ernst Kessler as the new member of the Board of Directors.
At the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of sia Abrasives, CEO Peter A. Schifferle confirmed the extremely gratifying development that is being experienced in this current business year. During the first four months of 2002, the volume of orders received was some 15% higher than for the same period last year. Orders on hand at the end of April 2002 were some 20% up on the year-back figures. sia Abrasives also increased consolidated sales during the opening four months of 2002 by some 13% compared with the result for the same period last year. A major contribution to these higher sales was made by Fibral in England, which was taken over in mid-2001. "This confirms the strategic decision to make an anticyclical investment to have been correct,” said Peter A. Schifferle. Now operating as sia Fibral Ltd., the company has integrated smoothly into the sia Abrasives structure. The sia Group is already exploiting the multiplier effect of a distribution network that has expanded into both new geographical areas and applicational segments. The concentration of activities in Great Britain at the sia Fibral Ltd. location will also result in synergies and cost savings. In addition to its internal growth, sia Abrasives is in the advanced stages of negotiations concerning further acquisitions in Europe. In the USA, sia Abrasives is discussing strategic collaboration with a conversion company with a view to subsequent acquisition.
Unchanged dividend
278 stockholders were present at the 23rd Annual Meeting of Stockholders of sia Abrasives Holding AG on 15 May 2002 at the Stadtcasino in Frauenfeld. These represented 331'846 votes or 44.2 percent of the total 750,000 registered shares. The Annual Meeting approved all the proposals placed before it by the Board of Directors and granted formal discharge for the 2001 business year to both the Board and Group Management. Stockholders will receive an unchanged dividend of CHF 6.75 per registered share. The Annual Meeting approved the annual report, financial statements and Group accounts for 2001 as presented to it. PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Winterthur, was re-elected as both company and Group auditors for a further period of one year.
Former Saurer CFO is new member of the Board
According to plan, Alexander Krebs resigned from the Board one year before his official term expired. He joined the Board of sia Abrasives following the investment made by the former SBC Equity Partners AG (today CapVis Equity Partners AG) and played an active role both in the MBO and in the Group’s IPO. The Board of Directors and the Group Management of the sia Group expressed their thanks to the retiring director for his many years of valuable service on behalf of the Group. As his successor, Alexander Kessler was elected as the new member of the Board. At the end of 2001, Ernst Kessler retired from the Saurer Group after 13 years as Chief Financial Officer. Before that, he had spent nearly 20 years in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, of which 16 years were with Johnson & Johnson, the US pharmaceutical and health-care corporation. Ernst Kessler is also a director of NAW Nutzfahrzeuge AG in Arbon.
® Correct nomenclature for sia Abrasives Holding AG
As there are other companies and organizations that use the same abbreviation as our company, we would be grateful if you could help to avoid any misunderstandings by always writing our name as follows: sia Abrasives (never just sia by itself).
News 