Germany-based plantmaker SMS Group has posted its financial results for 2011. Accordingly, its consolidated sales for the year amounted to €3.07 billion, up 1.11 percent, while its net profit reached €265 million, up 1.14 percent, both year on year. On the other hand, the value of orders received in 2011 was up 16.78 percent year on year, hitting €3.423 billion.
SMS's two business areas profited from a further recovery of the markets. As a result, in 2011 order intake by SMS Siemag totaled €2.007 billion, up six percent, while SMS Meer received orders worth €1.365 billion, up 31.3 percent, both year on year.
As regards the prospects for the future, Dr. Heinrich Weiss, chairman and CEO of SMS group, said, "Despite a decreasing willingness among our customers to invest in major projects, we expect to maintain order intake in 2012 at a level comparable to the previous year. Considering our high order backlog, we are also confident that sales and results in the coming two years will remain at a similar volume to that of 2011."
According to the press release, the market for metallurgical plant and machinery construction recovered slightly in 2011. However, the high economic uncertainty in the euro zone and some other markets means many customers are postponing or completely canceling investments. The main sales markets remain China, India, and Southeast Asia. Business with new plants continues to be slow in industrialized countries but, on the other hand, the technological trend toward higher steel qualities has boosted modernization orders. There was also an increasing demand for innovative environment protection products and solutions for improved energy efficiency.