Main activities in 2011
Jotun reported satisfactory results in 2011, despite a slight decline from the record year 2010. Both volume and sales value increased, but the company’s operations faced challenges arising from the unstable conditions in the Middle East and the debt situation in the USA and Europe. The high costs of key metals and raw materials are the main reason for the continued negative margin trend. Targeted activities, focused on both revenues and expenses, have been initiated throughout the organisation to secure profitability.
* Figures are taken from Jotuns Financial Statements. Figures for 2010-2011 are stated under IFRS, while figures for 2007-2010 are stated under NRS.
Goals
Jotun pursues an ambitious, organic growth strategy. Focus on building a corporate culture and profile, human resource development, innovation, customers and strengthening product identity are crucial to Jotun’s success.
The business unit
Jotun is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paints and powder coatings, with 75 companies and 39 production facilities, distributed across all of the world’s continents. Jotun also has agents, local offices and distributors in more than 90 countries and a total of 8,500 employees. Jotun’s operations include the development, manufacture, marketing and sale of a range of paint systems, as well as products for the residential, shipping and industrial markets that are designed to protect and decorate surfaces.
The Jotun Group comprises four divisions: Jotun Dekorativ, Jotun Paints, Jotun Coatings and Jotun Powder Coatings. Each division has its own products, segments and geographical areas of responsibility.
The companies in the Jotun Dekorativ division supply paints, stains and varnish products for the handicrafts and the Do-It-Yourself market in Scandinavia. The Jotun Paints division comprises companies in the Middle East and South-East Asia, where the main activities are decorative paints and responsibility for marine and anti-corrosion coatings for local customers and projects in the region. The Jotun Coatings division is responsible for marine and anti-corrosion coatings for heavy industry and the offshore industry in Europe, the USA, South Africa, Australia, Brazil and North Asia, and for decorative paints for local customers in these regions. The Jotun Powder Coatings division has global segment responsibility for decorative and functional powder coatings designed for industrial corrosion protection and metal surface treatment.
More about Jotun in 2011
The marine segment accounts for 60 per cent of the Coatings division’s results. Demand for newbuildings is declining noticeably, and this trend is expected to last for some time. Jotun has therefore adjusted its resource allocation and focus to target the maintenance market in order to ensure deliveries of paints for vessels in service and in dock, thereby protecting its top-line growth. The situation in the Middle East and North Africa is followed closely, and thanks to loyal employees in these countries, the company is able to rapidly adapt its operations in response to new situations.
Jotun has an ambitious, long-term growth strategy. Ensuring production capacity and high factory standards is crucial to the company’s growth. Despite turbulent conditions in some markets, the company is continuing the important process of upgrading its existing facilities and building new plants for the future. Factories are currently under construction in Norway, Brazil and the USA, as well as Jotun’s two factories in China. Developing new markets is similarly a key factor for Jotun’s growth, and attention is currently focused on developing markets like Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
More information about Jotun may be found on the company website www.jotun.com.
* The figures are on 100 % basis. Figures are taken from Jotuns Financial Statements.