TUV Rheinland Balance Sheet for 2010: A Good Year With Dynamic Growth

COLOGNE, Germany, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland further accelerated its dynamic growth in the 2010 financial year. The global testing service provider increased its revenues by 10.3% to EUR1.3 billion. Net income in 2010 was the best in company history. EBIT rose to EUR112.1 million compared with the previous year's result of EUR91.9 million. This is an increase of more than 20%. At the same time, TUV Rheinland further increased its EBIT margin for 2010 to 8.6%, following 7.8% in the 2009 financial year.

Friedrich Hecker, Chief Executive Officer of TUV Rheinland AG, notes: "We made good progress with our goal of becoming the most successful sustainable and independent quality and safety inspection institution. With our best net income level in our 140-year history, we achieved the targets in 2010 as we reach for our ultimate goal."

As in years past, Germany is the company's strongest region worldwide. There, TUV Rheinland generated revenues of EUR713 million, up from EUR689 million in 2009 (+3.5%). Outside Germany, the company generated EUR590 million. This corresponds to 19.9% growth compared with 2009.

The largest single investment was the acquisition of Geris Engenharia e Servicos in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Geris offers technical services, particularly for the oil and gas industry, electricity producers and suppliers, as well as for infrastructure projects in residential construction and logistics. The company experienced strong growth in 2010 and achieved annual revenues of around EUR30 million. TUV Rheinland also expanded its US rail technology segment by acquiring Rail Science.

The number of employees rose in 2010: The average number of employees rose from 13,804 to 14,412 in 2010, an increase of 4.4%. Since 2007, TUV Rheinland has employed more than half its staff outside Germany. In 2010, the annual average was 7,640 versus 7,050 one year earlier. In both China and South America, TUV Rheinland has about 2,000 employees, plus more than 1,600 in Western Europe. In Germany, headcount rose slightly to 6,770.

Equity and cash flow also developed well. In 2010, equity was EUR288.6 million, with an equity ratio of 22.2%. The ratio was 19.7% in 2009. Cash flow rose from EUR77.8 million in 2009 to slightly more than EUR100 million in 2010. CFO Ulrich Fietz explains: "As a result, we are excellently positioned to finance and make investments or interesting acquisitions."

All in all, TUV Rheinland investments rose in 2010 by almost 20% to EUR79 million compared with the previous year. For the current financial year, the company plans to increase its investments to EUR85 million.

TUV Rheinland is a global leader in independent inspection services, founded 140 years ago. The Group maintains a presence at around 500 locations in 61 countries with 14,500 employees. Annual turnover is EUR 1.3 billion. The independent experts stand for quality and safety for people, the environment, and technology in nearly all aspects of life. TUV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects and helps to shape processes for companies. Its experts train people in a wide range of careers and industries. To this end, TUV Rheinland employs a global network of approved labs, testing and education centres. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: http://www.tuv.com

Contact:

Hartmut Mueller-Gerbes, Head of Corporate Media Relations and Marketing, Fon: +49-221-8062657, E-Mail: presse@de.tuv.com