VIKING Grows for Seventh Straight Year
In 2010, global safety equipment manufacturer VIKING Life-Saving Equipment, once again generated growth in both its top and bottom lines. Despite difficult market conditions, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment secured a slice of the emerging upturn of the world market in 2010: the Group succeeded in achieving a record turnover of well over DKK 1,250 million, representing a growth of approximately 11% on 2009.
Last year’s strategic focus areas – to increase the product range and expand the service solutions – thus had the intended effect, and an operating profit of DKK 97.6 million (a 6% increase on the previous year) was successfully achieved. In addition, the opening of new service stations and a significantly expanded production led to an increase in employees from 1237 in 2009 to approx. 1500 in December 2010.
Broader
“The market increasingly demands service and support standards, and we have met that need. Our primary initiative, the Shipowner Agreements, is the widest and yet the most flexible service agreement available within marine safety equipment,” says VIKING CEO Henrik Uhd Christensen. He continues: “Our customers have welcomed the opportunity to customize their agreement both for product types and for geography with great enthusiasm. Once the agreement is signed, the customer is provided with a reliable operational concept which puts a minimum pressure on the shipyard’s resources, allowing it to focus on its core business without compromising on staff security or the shipyard’s operating costs.”
Global Growth
In the autumn of 2010, VIKING acquired the former competitor HYGRAPHA Safety at Sea GmbH & Co., one of the world’s leading independent wholesalers in marine safety equipment. The integration has been very successful: HYGRAPHA continues under its own name but grants VIKING access to an expanded network and expertise, taking the Group a step closer to realizing its vision of becoming a one-stop shop for marine safety equipment. VIKING’s ambition for 2011 is to continue to increase its product range, its innovation in services and its local presence worldwide. The organisation is expected to increase even further in the year ahead, with the largest growth seen outside Denmark.