Because of the prompt initiation measures during the economically hard financial year of 2009, Schindler was able to increase their net profit relative to that of the previous year by 3% to CHF 653 million. In the escalator and elevator business, the operating profits rose by 7.5% to CHF 962 million, and EBIT margins increased from 10.2% to 11.6%. After a previous year’s loss of about CHF 11 million, ALSO was able to attain a profit of about CHF 15 million, and this was despite the special amortization charge of about CHF 11 million, in the year that was reporting.

In this economically harsh environment, consolidated operating revenue has fallen by 9.5% to CHF 12,691 million in the year that is reporting. In the local type of currencies, the decrease was one of 5.9%. Consolidated operating profit despite all has increased by 9.6% to CHF 974 million, because of the measures that were initiated promptly in both of the business segments to make up for the effects of the economic downturn. After the restructuring costs and a amortization charge that totaled altogether CHF 44 million after taxes, net profit still reached CHF 653 million.

The consolidation or the order backlog at CHF 6,341 million was caused by the escalator and elevator business, and this saw only a slight decline of 0.9%. The number of hired personnel in the Group fell by 3.6% down to 43,437 employees.

The number of orders received was CHF 8,418 million, a decline of 9.1% when compared with the previous year. The fourth quarter brought an order intake that rose up by 7% to the same quarter of the year before. The slight drop in the orders that were received mainly affected the installations business in Spain, the UK, the US, Australia and some Eastern Europe markets. The operating revenue fell by 5.5% to CHF 8,281 million. Because of the measures that we initiated quickly, the profit from operating rose by 7.5% which equaled CHF 962 million, and the operating margin overall improved from 10.2 % to 11.6 %.

Despite a loss of about CHF 11 million the year before and regardless of a amortization loss of CHF 11 million for their discontinuance of the old GNT name ALSO returned to profit as they earned CHF 15 million in the year that was reporting.