DGAP-News: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft: GEA Optimizes

DGAP-News: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft: GEA Optimizes Group Structure (news with additional features) 21.08.2014 / 07:00 --------------------------------------------------------------------- GEA Optimizes Group Structure - In the future, two Business Areas: "Equipment" and "Solutions" - Sales and Services to be bundled into one organization per country - Administrative functions will be clearly streamlined and centralized - Expected annual savings until the end of 2017: at least EUR 100 million Düsseldorf, August 21, 2014 - Within the scope of its "Fit for 2020" initiative, the Executive Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft resolved to introduce a new group structure. As part of the strategic realignment of the company, this initiative provides an optimized organizational setup with reduced structural complexity. Hence, it will allow for significant cost reduction and fosters further growth. Following the recent divestiture of the heat exchanger business, GEA is sharpening its focus on the customer industries food and beverages from which the group meanwhile receives about 75 percent of its order intake. In the course of 2015, GEA will bundle the development and manufacturing of products and the provision of process solutions into the two new Business Areas, "Equipment" and "Solutions" and report accordingly. The current Segments will be integrated into these two Business Areas. This new bundling into Business Areas of about equal strength focusing on their respective successful business models promises to exploit more operational synergies across technologies and applications and will promote functional excellence through the standardization of processes. All customer-oriented Sales and Service activities are to be combined on a local level into one organization per country. With the merging of the currently still large number of sales and service companies, local competencies will be strengthened, existing synergy potentials realized even more efficiently and the visibility of the common brand GEA will be highlighted in the market. Anchoring the independent regional perspective in the management of sales and services is also geared to accelerate the systematic opening of new growth opportunities in emerging markets. In addition, administrative functions will be streamlined, stronger standardized and managed considerably more centrally in the future, which besides cost savings, is designed to ensure uniform high process standards globally. The Global Corporate Center will centrally manage all steering and support functions which so far have mostly been organized decentrally within the operating units. Regional Shared Service Centers will take care of the implementation of standardized administrative processes such as accounts receivables and payables or payroll accounting and thus relieve the operating units. With project "Fit for 2020", the target is to achieve annual cost savings of at least EUR 100 million by the end of 2017. According to first estimates the cash-relevant non-recurring expenditures until then are likely to add up to approximately the amount of the aforementioned annual savings. Based on today's business volume, the implementation measures will include world-wide personnel capacity reductions of approx. 1000 full-time equivalents over the next 2-3 years. However, the exact number of adjustments, the timeline and affected locations are subject to further analyses during the "Blueprint Detailing" phase. Personnel-related measures will be discussed in a timely and adequate manner with the relevant employee representatives. "The goal of the strategic realignment of GEA is to ensure the sustainable development of value added in the company group. With this new group structure we will not only leverage existing savings potentials but also establish the organizational platform for reaching our ambitious growth targets. The future GEA will have substantially flatter hierarchies, act more closely to the local customer and boast a distinctly clearer footprint as a globally uniform brand. Further details of the new organization will now be determined in a blueprint detailing phase until the end of the year", affirmed Jürg Oleas, CEO of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. About GEA Group GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft is one of the largest suppliers for the food processing industry and a wide range of other process industries. As an international technology group, the Company focuses on process technology and components for sophisticated production processes. In 2013, GEA generated consolidated revenues in excess of EUR 4.3 billion, more than 70 percent of which came from the food sector, which is a long-term growth industry. The group employed about 18,000 people worldwide as of June 30, 2014. GEA Group is a market and technology leader in its business areas. It is listed in Germany's MDAX stock index (G1A, WKN 660 200) and the STOXX(R) Europe 600 Index. Further information is available on the Internet at: www.gea.com. To unsubscribe from GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft's news distribution list, please send an e-mail to pr@gea.com. Contact: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft Phone +49 (0)211 9136 1492 Fax +49 (0)211 9136 31087 www.gea.com +++++ Additional features: Picture: http://newsfeed2.equitystory.com/mg-technologies/283236.html Subtitle: GEA - From four stand-alone Segments to OneGEA organization --------------------------------------------------------------------- 21.08.2014 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft Peter-Müller-Straße 12 40468 Düsseldorf Germany Phone: +49 (0)211 9136-0 Fax: +49 (0)211 9136-31087 E-mail: ir@gea.com Internet: www.gea.com ISIN: DE0006602006 WKN: 660200 Indices: MDAX Listed: Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg, München; Freiverkehr in Hannover, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 283236 21.08.2014