Moving Forward with a Stronger Eltek
Eltek continued to make good progress in 2011, reporting double-digit revenue growth and better margins. We fortified our position as a truly global leader in the market for telecom power systems, where we showed strong growth in countries as diverse as Brazil, Russia and Germany, secured new business across Asia and Australia, and landed a major OEM contract for deliveries in the USA. We also strengthened our market positions for other industrial applications, driven by growth in Brazil, India, China, and in our stronghold market in Germany.
Having been with Eltek for more than 20 years, I took over as CEO in September last year to lead a company focused on developing leadership in the power electronics market. Together with the Board of Directors and a dedicated management team I have since been working through a thorough process to chisel out the strategic direction for the company. The progress made in 2011 offers evidence that cultivation of the core business bears fruit, and this is the path we will stick to going forward.
Towards the end of the year we rebranded all the companies in the Group under the ELTEK name, a strong brand built on our core values of customer centricity, technological ambition, competitiveness, and cultural sensitivity. Our promise to our customers remains the same; “Exceptional power conversion, great customer value”.
We have simplified the organization to reflect the focus on core activities after the divestment of Nera Networks early in 2011, and a natural next step has been taken this year with the entering into an agreement to divest our shareholding in Nera Telecommunications. The divestments untie both management resources and financial resources that we believe can be put better to use to pursue opportunities in the core business in the time to come.
Going forward, we will continue to broaden our geographical footprint in the Telecom Power market. As an example, we believe Africa will be one of the growth drivers and therefore opened up our first sub-Saharan African offices in Nairobi, Kenya and in Lagos, Nigeria in March 2012. We are also committed to continue growing the Industrial Applications business, and see great development trends in Power Utilities and Rail & Metro markets across the globe.
Our core technologies offer benefits that are appreciated also in other markets. Our sales development within solar power lagged our expectations last year but we will continue our venture into this market based on award-winning products and technologies. In the electric vehicle market we secured a milestone contract win towards the end of 2011, and see sound interest in our products and ideas also in this area. However, electric vehicles will remain a relatively small part of our business in the near to medium term.
Summing up, 2011 was a good year for Eltek, and we have every opportunity to continue building our business in a profitable manner also going forward. The current uncertain economic climate reduces the near term visibility but I can assure you we remain enthusiastic about our business opportunities also for 2012 and the years to follow.
Colin Howe
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