ASBISc Enterprises plc Published Annual Report
In his shareholder address, John Hirst, ASBIS Group's Non Executive Chairman, said:
"2007 has been an eventful year for ASBIS and one that continued to build on the firm foundations established over many years. The markets have been supportive and the Company’s growth very encouraging indeed.
New product lines have been added and new customers have been won. In terms of product range and geographic coverage ASBIS remains firmly ahead of its competitors, setting the standard for service and growth.
Sales growth of 39 % coupled with effective leverage of the operational cost structure resulted in a 69% growth in profit after tax.
Listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange was completed successfully in October and interest in the Company’s activities has continued to grow. Although Warsaw in common with many international stock markets has been influenced by global uncertainties ASBIS has been seen as a strong performer.
The markets that ASBIS serves have an increasing growth potential. ASBIS has an excellent footprint and the Board believes the company has both calibre of management and an appropriate strategy to deliver excellent results into the future."
ASBIS' CEO Siarhei Kostevitch, pointed out:
"I am very glad to see that ASBIS group has finished 2007 in a very strong manner. The business grew ahead of expectations . We can say that 2007 was a very challenging but fruitful year for the whole group.
During last year we managed to deliver solid portfolio of laptops for the fastest growing market segments and futher developed our sales channel. We have served a wider customer base, exceeding 20 thousand active clients, as well as increased the number of on-line customers to 11 thousand. Our own brands showed 34% growth in sales and 56% growth in profits. The growth in certain countries was really amazing to point out the best performers; namely the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
We have been able not only to grow our revenues by 38% but also to achieve an increase in gross profit margin to 4.9%. As a result of operational efficiencies our net profit grew by 69%.
Last year was special to ASBIS group: We were very delighted to have listed the company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in October 2007 and raised additional capital by issuing new shares. All funds came at the right moment to provide capital for continued profitable growth.
Last year we saw a consolidation between competitors. We believe that this will continue as the markets we operate on are still very fragmented and the environment is not favourable to small national distributors. We are very confident that ASBIS built a solid foundation across all European, Middle East and Africa emerging markets for the growth going forward and is very well positioned to adapt to any changes in the environment as they might arise.
Lastly I would like to ensure all shareholders that the management of ASBIS will take all necessary steps in order to safeguard interests of the shareholders. With the current infrastructure we are in a position to regard the future with confidence and believe that the future of ASBIS group is bright. The management team are committed to delivering value for current and future shareholders. We will do our best to make 2008 another successful year!"
The Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 is available for download on Financial Reports page