2014-05-14

“The past financial year’s been generally good for the Feralco Group. Sales fell a little, but the profit was better than last year,” say Stephen Childs and Ludovic Huitorel, the Feralco Group’s two Managing Directors.

“The drier weather in Europe was the reason for sales in Europe falling a little compared with the previous year, but thanks to better margins for the Group as a whole we were able to report a better financial result.

“In some regions we found things a bit tougher in the industrial markets. The pulp and paper industry was particularly challenging because of the tough conditions in that sector.

“In Northern European countries we’ve essentially seen business unchanged compared with the previous year, although there too both turnover and profit were affected in connection with the exchange rate into Swedish kronor. This currency is much stronger at present compared with previous years.

“The difficult economic conditions in Southern Europe have continued to have an impact on spending and to stimulate saving and local purchases in both smaller towns and major cities. In view of these cutbacks, we’re nevertheless satisfied with our performance here.

“We’re continuing to actively investigate new opportunities, and we’ve taken our first steps into the Eastern European markets together with our new joint venture partner Akim, a major industrial company based in Istanbul, Turkey. We’re convinced that our shared knowledge and experience in the manufacture and marketing of water treatment products will provide a stable platform on which to develop our joint business in this exciting, expanding market. At the same time we can also see opportunities for consolidation in Western Europe, a process that we intend to monitor and also play an active role in.

“The conditions in the market remain challenging, but we’re in a good position to secure our position as one of the leading suppliers of these important chemicals. More than 100 million people are supplied with drinking water that’s been treated by products from Feralco, including the inhabitants of major cities such as London, Paris and Madrid. Feralco is Europe’s second biggest manufacturer of coagulants for water treatment,” conclude Stephen Childs and Ludovic Huitorel.