Viking Shows Growth

Marine and fire safety equipment manufacturer and service provider Viking Life-saving Equipment A/S has reported its ninth year of growth – capturing market share from competitors in a difficult business climate and delivering record turnover of DKK 1,584 billion and PBT of 115 million DKK.

According to CEO Henrik Uhd Christensen, the company’s results are due to Viking’s investments in long term growth, which are proving their worth in a worldwide market that has virtually stagnated during 2012.

“Our estimates are that the market experienced limited growth during 2012, primarily due to a positive development within the offshore sector” says Henrik Uhd Christensen. “With our competitors struggling to maintain market share, Viking’s growth of 10% in turnover is a remarkable achievement that indicates a healthy market position.”

“Even though the company’s annual growth rate decreased from 21% to 10% compared with 2011, we’re satisfied with the result and on track to achieve our long term objectives,” says Henrik Uhd Christensen.

One of the pillars of Viking’s success is its broad portfolio of offerings with the market’s widest range of safety product and services, as well as customized safety concepts.
 

During 2012, Viking’s focus was on customized solutions tailored to each shipowner’s actual needs. The company’s offshore business experienced solid growth, largely due to strong demand for Viking’s customized products for the offshore sector.

Growth was also evident in the important Passenger segment, where Viking provides the highest evacuation capacity in the market - up to 908 people evacuated in just 30 minutes.

The cargo segment was buoyed by an increased marketshare within agreements for service and equipment exchange, the so-called “Viking shipowner Agreements,” that match shipowner needs in a difficult market. An accomplishment supported, according to Viking’s CEO, by the company’s far-reaching network of servicing stations and breadth of service offerings.

 
Viking grew its global presence again in 2012 with branch offices and servicing stations in Brazil (Recipe and Sao Luis), Sweden (Gothenburg and Smögen), India (Chennai), China (Ning Bo), and the Ukraine (Odessa).
 

During 2012, Viking also made investments in the development of new saftey products and services. At the end of the year, Viking acquired a German company specialized in the servicing of maritime fire equipment to help drive the marine fire protection business.

Henrik Uhd Christensen said, “The key reasons we’ve been able to achieve our financial objectives are our closeness to customers and our continuous development. We’re constantly in contact with customers, working to refine our understanding of their needs. We use this insight to fine-tune products and concepts so that we can maintain a strong competitiveness.”


 

Key Figures Viking Life-Saving Equipment A/S                   
                             
     MIO. DKK               2012        2011          2010          2009            2008    
     Net turnover          1.584       1.442        1.259         1.136            1.074    
     Operating profit    128          121            98               92                 92    
     PBT                        115          102            83               78                 74    
     Profit after tax        79            71              62               59                 55    
     Assets                   1.319      1.105         940             823               857    
     Equity                     559         493            445            377               316    
     Avg. no. of employees    1.694     1.557    1.397    1.237    1.253