die von obskuren Figuren aus Kulmbach hochgejubelt wird, die schon viele ehrliche deutsche Anleger um Haus und Hof gebracht haben:
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW 2006 was a great year for our Company. We grew the direct profit by 21%, increased our Online sales penetration to 36% and enhanced our position as the destination website for buyers and sellers of surplus industrial equipment. Our results for 2006 have certainly validated the focus we have placed on several key operational initiatives: •Sales alignment with the most significant and profitable growth opportunities: Our salesforce is now aligned by key customer segments: Corporates – Used Equipment Dealers – Bankruptcy & Insolvency – Asset Based Lenders This has enabled the Company to deeply penetrate targeted verticals and focus lead generation activities more effectively. Further we have launched an internal sales excellence development programme that is raising the standard of client proposals and improving our win rate. •Increased Online auction penetration: In 2006 we conducted 465 Online auctions, an increase of 19% over 2005. Moreover our Online sales penetration improved to 36%, up 11% on 2005. Indeed our UK business unit delivered Online sales penetration in excess of 60%, which shows the potential to improve this position on a global basis in the years to come. In addition we beat our record for the largest single lot sold Online during the year, as we sold a textile mill from Manila in the Philippines to a company located in India for $3.9 million. GoIndustry has proved again that it possesses the capability to sell the widest possible variety of equipment, at optimal prices, via its Online auction methodology. •International marketing reach: What began as an initiative to expand the strength and depth of our global buyer database, turned into a broader drive to improve our marketing process. This resulted in some changes to our website architecture that drove a dramatic increase in visitors. In 2006 the number of pageviews on our website increased by 73%. Amongst the reasons for this increase in our web traffic was an initiative to improve our position in the natural listings of search engines such as Google and Yahoo, together with an increased use of sponsored links from other related websites. Furthermore we have invested in new software to make emails targeted towards our own databases more effective. As a result during 2006 we sold equipment into 87 countries across the world (up from 75 in 2005), and we now have more than 200 countries represented within our global buyer database. •One global approach: What began as six companies that were acquired in 2001, has evolved into a global business, with more than 275 employees in 15 countries across 3 continents. During 2006 we have taken major strides forward through training and technology based initiatives that are helping us to build a learning and performance culture within the business. This has resulted in the Company now having the confidence to retire its legacy brands (Henry Butcher International, Karner & Co, Michael Fox International and Appelboom) during the first few months of 2007. Our employees and customers have embraced this change in a positive fashion, and going forward we will trade exclusively under the GoIndustry name on a global basis In 2007 we will continue to execute on the above initiatives, and in addition will introduce two new areas to focus on: 1. Online Exchange Auctions During the 4th quarter of 2006, we ran several pilot Online auctions that enabled us to build liquidity in specific asset classes from multiple vendors in the same Online auction. This approach was developed in response to demand from used equipment dealers seeking to move their inventory faster by leveraging our global platform. Initial results have been encouraging and we will be looking to develop this type of Online auction sale significantly during 2007. 2. Geographic Expansion As a result of the successful placing of 40 million new shares in April 2007, the Company has raised £6.6 million (net) of new capital, some of which will be used to expand the business in key countries. During 2005 and 2006 we have identified and secured a number of deals in both Italy and France that have generated significant profitable revenues. As a consequence we have decided to build organically a business in each country, as there is a significant accessible supply of quality surplus industrial equipment. Further, after an improved set of results in North America in 2006, we will be seeking to expand our sales team and activities in the world’s largest market. One of the key objectives of our growth initiatives is to make the business more scalable and improve our ability to predict revenue growth. We are doing this by increasing our focus on repeatable sources of business. The Online exchange auctions are an example of this, as are corporate relationships like the one we signed with Dana Corporation in 2006. Until these initiatives have reached scale, I would like to point out that our periodic growth in direct profit will remain somewhat difficult to predict. There are two reasons for this. The first is our current dependence on large deals.
|