Compounding systems specialist Coperion Holding (Stuttgart / Germany; www.coperion.com) has reported double-digit growth in sales and earnings again for 2005. Turnover rose 19.3% to EUR 364m, while EBITA more than doubled from EUR 10.1m to 23.1m. CEO Manfred Eiden is forecasting another forward leap, of "more than 20%," for 2006, with sales likely to hit EUR 440m. At the same time, the company hopes to post a disproportionately high increase in operating profit.

The positive outlook for this year is based on a record EUR 423m in new orders booked last year. When it comes to further growth, the strategic focus will continue to be the service segment. In the medium term, management hopes this will give Coperion some degree of independence from cyclical petrochemical markets. Demand from the core petrochemicals segment is expected to remain at a high level up to around 2010, Eiden said at the results press conference in Stuttgart. However, the company must still be prepared for a potential turnaround, he remarked.

The decentralisation of service activities, planned in 2005, is proceeding on schedule. The aim is still to have more than 30 service centres worldwide – one of the newest is in Russia. "With 15,000 systems installed worldwide, there is high potential for Coperion here", Eiden noted. At the start of 2006, management drew up a triple-digit million euro capital spending plan, with funds to be invested in machinery for spare parts production at the Stuttgart and Wytheville, Virginia / USA sites. This will start accelerating deliveries in the second half of 2006 at the earliest, said Eiden. Above-average growth in this segment already is being seen.

At the same time, Coperion is paying attention to developing demand for turnkey plants, which it started supplying in mid-2005. According to the CEO, sales in this new segment already are "significant", and the prospects are promising. At an assembly hall recently completed in Stuttgart, pre-installed turnkey systems are being tested prior to delivery.