German plastics sheet and pipe producer Simona says sales and profit continued to grow in the 2011 financial year, with particularly strong growth in developing regions.

In 2011, sales revenue increased 15.4% from the previous year to €308.5m, and Ebit doubled to €19.8m.

“Overall, our performance in 2011 was very solid indeed,” CEO Wolfgang Moyses said in a statement. “We outpaced the German economy as a whole, as well as growing faster than the plastics-processing industry. Our global strategy with a focus on safety- and eco-specific applications in the field of plastics has clearly borne fruit.”

Sales in the Europe & African business increased 15.5% to €104.6m, buoyed by above-average growth in eastern Europe, while sales in the Asia, Americas & Australia business grew 16.6% to €51.9m.

“We are determined to establish a significant market position within the growth markets,” said Moyses. “In fact, we have already been successful in our efforts in eastern Europe, having formed a subsidiary in Russia, as well as in Latin America, where we introduced a dealership network in 2011.”

Revenue from pipes and fittings rose 12% to €79.1m. Sales of pipes made of PP and fluoroplastics increased but PE pipe sales were impacted by a decline in public-sector construction projects in Germany.

In 2012, Simona is targeting sales of more than €300m and an Ebit margin of more than 5%.

Source - http://www.europeanplasticsnews.com/subscriber/headlines2.html?cat=1&id=1406