DSM Q4
[BIZ: Heerlen, February 24] - Life Sciences performance reflects robust Nutrition business. Commenting on the results, Feike Sijbesma, Chairman of the DSM Managing Board, said: “In what was undoubtedly one of the most challenging years in DSM’s history, we stayed the course and remained fully committed to our customers, innovation and sustainability. After a difficult first half-year, we delivered improved results in the second half of the year as our Materials Sciences businesses started to recover. “As we have entered an uncertain 2010, DSM will continue its strategic transformation into a Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company. We completed the disposal of two businesses during the year and remain committed to exiting the remaining non-core operations. While recognizing the uneven nature of the current economic recovery, we are cautiously optimistic.”
Q4 operating profit from continuing operations EUR 141m is in line with Q3 2009.
- Materials Sciences recovery remains on track.
- Full year operating profit from continuing operations EUR 370m.
- Full year cash flow from operating activities very strong at EUR 1,276m.
- Solid financial position − dividend maintained at EUR 1.20 in cash.
- No quantitative outlook provided for 2010.
“Although our full-year operating profit from continuing operations halved compared to our record performance of 2008, the decline in DSM’s core activities was limited to 26%. A continued robust performance from the Nutrition business and the benefits of our early actions to improve our competitive position contributed to this performance. Our initiatives to reduce costs delivered over EUR 150m in savings during the year, whilst our focus on cash resulted in an unprecedented operating cash flow of almost EUR 1.3bn in 2009. Our strong financial position leaves us well placed to capitalize on any opportunity that might arise.
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