Category Archives: Financial

GE Appliances celebrates business transformation

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CEO Kevin Nolan and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer recognized GE Appliances’ remarkable business transformation over the last five years by renaming the loop at Appliance Park to GEA Way. The “GEA Way” reflects our better way of doing business and the winning approach underway since 2016 that’s resulted in:
 
✅ Double-digit growth
✅ $1 billion in U.S. investments
✅ 2,000 American jobs created
✅ Meaningful investments in local communities
✅ New, innovative microenterprises and more. 

Along with the ceremonial street naming, Mayor Fischer declared today “GEA Way Day.”
 https://geappliancesco.com/the-gea-way-ge-appliances-celebrates-business-transformation/

Glen Dimplex reports £36 million loss

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Global domestic appliance group Glen Dimplex has posted a £36 million loss in its first financial reporting since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Dublin head-quartered outfit, which was set up in Newry by Martin Naughton in 1973, took an 11 per cent hit to its turnover, with six months of lockdown eating into its revenues by £82m, reducing it to just over £659m in the year ending September 30 2020.

Glen Dimplex is the world’s largest electric heating maker. But its vast appliance business ranges from Morphy Richards and radio maker Roberts to Walker televisions and Belling cookers.

Most of the group’s sales, just over half-a-billion pounds in the last reporting period, were derived from within the EU.

The latest grouped accounts for its Newry domiciled business Glen Electric Ltd, states that the impact of Covid-19 can be seen across all entities within its group.

A number of its sites had to close for a period due to government restrictions, with the group revealing it had received £4.8m in Covid-19 wage support in the six months of the pandemic period included in the accounts.

Nevertheless, cost cutting measures saw the group’s workforce cut by almost 300 to 3,799.

Glen Electric said revenue and profitability had recovered “markedly” in the 202/21 financial year with demand for its products strengthening.

Most of the losses stated in the report relate to the cost of restructuring and re-investment in the business as part of what the directors described as the group’s transformation to focus on smart technologies and sustainably driven energy solutions.

The group spent £17.2m into restructuring, most of it in Germany, and pumped £21.1m into R&D. Another £2.3m went to The Naughton Foundation, an educational charity named for the company’s founder.

Summarising the performance during the reporting period, the directors said: “The £40.6m investment occurred at a time when Covid-19 impacts were at their peak resulting in a total loss for the year before taxation of £36.3, up from £14.6m in the prior year.

“The loss reflects the impact of continued investment in the group’s future as well as its ability to absorb such costs in the short term to achieve its long-term growth objectives.”

Glen Electric’s directors also revealed that they increased investment in stock over the year to avoid the risk of potential procurement delays due to Brexit and to ensure enough stock is on hand to meet customer demand.

Smart-Appliance Maker Viomi Reports Surging First-Quarter Profit and Revenue Growth

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Viomi Technology, a Xiaomi-backed Chinese startup focusing on developing Internet of Things (IoT)-powered home appliances, posted a 173.2% increase in first-quarter net profit as the firm expanded overseas.

Net profit for the quarter that ended on March 31 surged to 49.1 million yuan ($7.5 million), Viomi said in its earnings report released Thursday.

Revenue rose 64% year-on-year to 1.3 billion yuan, about 73% of which came from sales of its IoT-enabled appliances such as sweeper robots and smart kitchen products, according to the financial report. Sales of IoT-enabled appliances jumped 111.5% year-on-year.

The remainder of Viomi’s revenue was generated from sales of its domestic water solutions, consumables and small appliances, the report said.

Viomi said that the robust growth got a boost in part by its drive to expand into overseas markets including Europe, Southeast Asia, South Korea and Australia, where its sweeper robots are popular.

“Our products are designed with an eye on health care, smartification, home security and natural AI voice interactions,” said Viomi CEO Chen Xiaoping. “Looking ahead at the rest of 2021, we will continue to optimize our IoT product portfolio with a focus on AI application.”

As of the end of March, Viomi accumulated 5.6 million household users, about 20.4% of which had at least two Viomi-branded internet connected products, according to the report.

The Nasdaq-listed company said that it expects its second-quarter revenue to be between 1.7 billion yuan and 1.9 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.1% to 9.8%.

Galanz to buy whirlpool China

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Home appliance manufacturer Galanz Group’s acquisition of the Chinese unit of United States’ white goods maker Whirlpool will help it to diversify its business, a top company official said.

“Growth, no matter what happens, along with high-quality development, will be our core strategy this year,” said Liang Zhaoxian, chairman of Galanz, during the company’s annual meeting on Sunday.

After over 200 days of antimonopoly investigation by authorities in the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, Turkey, Austria and Colombia, Galanz was given the go-ahead for the acquisition deal, according to Liang.

“The approval means all shareholders of Whirlpool China can sell their shares to Galanz. It would be a historical milestone for us,” said Liang.

Last August, the Chinese firm said that it would accept no less than 51 percent of Whirlpool China’s equity and a maximum of 61 percent, according to Liang.

“Galanz will focus on upgrading technology, brand and supply chains for business growth this year. The acquisition of Whirlpool China is part of our strategy to help diversify brands and promote sustainable business growth,” said Liang.

The acquisition, which is equal to 2.46 billion yuan ($370 million), will start on Wednesday and end on April 29. Whirlpool China’s stock price was down 6.48 percent at 7.65 yuan per share on Tuesday.

“It was not simply a cooperation between a Chinese company and a Fortune Global 500 company－Chinese home appliance makers will be more competitive in the global market as they have now developed core technologies in the self-innovative industrial chain,” said Liang.

According to Liang, Galanz plans to build two purchasing technology quality control centers in South China and East China in the near future.

“We will build a new market, bring in advanced technology, products and services to consumers in China, as well as the world,” said Liang.

Galanz, which is Whirlpool’s third-largest global supplier, intends to help Whirlpool China to improve management efficiency, enhance profitability and ensure stable development, said Liang Huiqiang, vice-chairman of Galanz.

After acquiring a combined majority stake in Japanese kitchen appliance maker Zojirushi in January last year, Galanz has been vying for more brands to diversify its business.

Teaming up with Whirlpool and Zojirushi will help Galanz to enter a rapid business expansion in the near future, according to Liang.

“Having multiple brands and diversified businesses is the future development trend for various consumer groups,” said Liang.

The Guangdong-based company has been looking for more than 10,000 workers to boost its production capacity this year, due to increased orders from overseas buyers.

After posting a 212 percent year-on-year growth in sales last year, the company is expecting overseas orders to rise by 90 percent on a yearly basis during the first quarter of this year, according to Liang.

“The production capacity of refrigerators will increase by more than 80 percent this year,” said Liang.

Vestel signs licensing agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Brand!

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Vestel signs licensing agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Brand!

Bringing to 157 countries worldwide the leading-edge technologies it manufactures in Turkey, and having been Turkey’s exports champion in consumer electronics for 23 years, Vestel has initiated yet another strategic collaboration in exports by signing a 10-year licensing agreement with with POSCO INTERNATIONAL Corporation, holders of the Daewoo brand, to allow Vestel manufacture and sell major appliances and TV sets with the Daewoo brand.

Vestel is set to export these products to nearly 50 countries particularly in Europe as well as Russia and the Turkic Republics, further cementing its strong position in both European and Asian markets.

Arçelik have signed an agreement to acquire Whirlpool Turkey’s manufacturing operations.

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Arçelik have signed an agreement to acquire Whirlpool Turkey’s manufacturing operations.

Manisa is a key production hub which will bring in a significant additional capacity for Arçelik Global and further strengthen their foothold in Europe and in the region.

Arçelik are establishing a strategic commercial relationship with Whirlpool which will open up export opportunities in new markets.

Haier Financial results

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Haier Smart Home has released its Q1 2021 financial results showing operating revenue of €7 billion and an increase of 27% year-on-year. Overseas revenue increased by 24.6% yoy, with revenue growth of over 40% in high-end products. The Q1 2021 report follows the recent publication of the 2020 Annual Report confirming the profitable growth of its overseas business. In 2020 the company registered a global turnover of approximately over €26.5 billion, with smart appliances sales increased by 29% globally. Haier Europe achieved revenues for approximately over €2.1 billion in 2020, with an increase of 8.7% yoy. “2020 was certainly an unprecedented year with many headwinds and we always have had people safety as our top priority. We committed to guaranteeing business continuity and serving our consumers: our financial results show that all of our efforts are paying back – said Yannick Fierling, CEO at Haier Europe -. We have an ambitious long-range plan and growth strategy for Europe for the years ahead and the positive Q1 2021 performance we have already registered clearly shows we are on the right track”.

AO World sales surge and boss predicts more growth, even as rivals reopen shops

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AO released Q4 and Full Year trading update to the city and are delighted to report a 62% increase in revenue founder and Chief Executive, John Roberts, said: “I am delighted to report a year of outstanding financial, operational and strategic progress. The last 12 months have been like no other and we have been very proud to rise to the challenges for our customers – keeping their lives powering on with essential electrical and technology products.”

“We were brave and bold in our capacity and infrastructure investments early in the year and now look forward to building on that scale advantage.

Guangdong Homa Appliances hostile bid by TCL

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Leading Chinese TV maker TCL is seeking to swallow Guangdong Homa Appliances, a big manufacturer of refrigerators, in a hostile takeover bid.

TCL already has a 20% stake in Homa Appliances, whose stock it began snapping up at the beginning of the year. The move, at diversifying TCL’s business portfolio, comes in response to radical changes in the business environment. After years of rapid growth, backed by a vast domestic market, Chinese appliances makers are under strong pressure to branch out into new businesses and markets.

Calling Homa Appliances “an extremely competitive company,” Li Dongsheng, chairman of TCL Electronics, the core unit of the TCL group, suggested in early March that the group would continue amassing Homa shares in the coming months