Belimo enjoys continued growth and increased pr...

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Media information on Belimo Group results for the financial year 2008

Belimo enjoys continued growth and increased profitability
The Belimo Group, a global leader in electrical actuators and valves
for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, can look back
on a successful year in 2008. Despite the known economic
uncertainties and the deterioration in the construction industry in
some countries, steady growth was achieved in all three market
regions. At the same time, profitability was further increased.

Net sales in Swiss francs rose by 8.6 percent to CHF 403.8 million.
Operating income (EBIT) rose to CHF 64.5 million, increasing the
operating profit margin to 16.0 percent (previous year 15.5 percent).
Negative currency movements meant only a slight increase in net
income of 0.1 percent to CHF 46.1 million. Earnings per share rose by
3.8 percent to CHF 75.88 (previous year CHF 73.08), mainly due to the
reduction in capital by 35'000 shares following the share buyback
program the previous year. Return on equity (ROE) was 32.3 percent
(previous year 31.1 percent), and the return on invested capital
(ROIC) amounted to 28.2 percent.
Cash flow from operating activities rose significantly by 28.3
percent to CHF 60.6 million. Free cash flow was CHF 46.4 million in
the financial year 2008 (previous year CHF 33.5 million).

The Board of Directors will propose a dividend of CHF 40.00 per share
to the Annual General Meeting on April 27, 2009.

Growth in all regions
Belimo succeeded in increasing its market share and in some regions
even recorded stronger growth than the market as a whole. The
economic environment in the European markets was largely favorable.
Construction activity in Central, Northern and Eastern Europe was
good, and in the Middle East nothing short of euphoric. The Americas,
too, posted a rise in sales in both application sectors. Growth in
water applications was twice that in air applications. The trend in
the countries of Central America fell short of expectations. In the
Asia/Pacific region the greatest growth was achieved in India and
Japan, but South-East Asia and Australia also recorded pleasing
growth. In China, it proved impossible to match the growth rates of
the previous year and to meet the high expectations due to the market
slowdown.

Net sales by region

in CHF 1'000        2008       %        2007       %
Europe           237'840      59     206'150      56
Americas         136'598      34     139'047      37
Asia/Pacific      29'319       7      26'623       7
Total            403'757     100     371'820     100



Net sales in local currencies rose by 14.7 percent, with Europe
contributing 18.0 percent, the Americas 8.9 percent and Asia/Pacific
19.8 percent to the growth.

Net sales by application sector

in CHF 1'000              2008       %        2007       %
Air applications       265'843      66     248'407      67
Water applications     137'914      34     123'413      33
Total                  403'757     100     371'820     100


Air and water applications rose by 12.5 and 19.1 percent respectively
in local currencies.

Innovation
Issues such as energy-saving, sustainability and safety are
reinforcing the trend towards innovative sophisticated solutions and
shaping the development of a wide range of standards in fire
protection and certification for buildings. These requirements, some
of them new, are encouraging customized innovation and opening up
numerous fields in which Belimo can deliver customer-oriented
solutions. For example, the recent launch of the CM, the world's
flattest air damper actuator, was well received by the market.
Production, customizing and logistics
At the Hinwil site, individual production cells, customizing and
configuration were relocated to optimize the flow of goods. The
Danbury site was reorganized to achieve better capacity utilization
despite the tight space available. The production lines were
standardized and rearranged.

Outlook 2009
The Belimo Group intends to continue to invest in research and
development at the same high level in 2009, and to supplement the
product range with further ground-breaking application solutions. On
the whole, the Belimo Group anticipates that it will not be able to
maintain its high growth rate to date. However, because of its
international orientation and the great importance of the renovations
business, Belimo remains confident. The goal is to continue to
generate a strong EBIT margin.


Key figures of the Belimo Group for the 2008 financial year


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                              |         |             |     Change |
| in CHF 1'000 (unless         |    2008 |        2007 |       in % |
| indicated otherwise)         |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Net sales                    | 403'757 |     371'820 |       8.6% |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
| Operating income (EBIT)      |  64'543 |      57'477 |      12.3% |
| as a percentage of net sales |   16.0% |       15.5% |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |  46'148 |      46'090 |            |
| Net income                   |   11.4% |       12.4% |       0.1% |
| as a percentage of net sales |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Cash flow from operating     |  60'632 |      47'246 |            |
| activities                   |   15.0% |       12.7% |      28.3% |
| as a percentage of net sales |         |             |            |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Free cash flow               |  46'447 |      33'522 |      38.6% |
| as a percentage of net sales |   11.5% |        9.0% |            |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Earnings per share in CHF    |   75.88 |       73.08 |       3.8% |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Dividend per share in CHF    |     *40 |          45 |     -11.1% |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Capital expenditure          |  11'079 |      13'963 |     -20.7% |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Research and development     |  23'502 |      22'507 |            |
| expenses                     |    5.8% |        6.1% |       4.4% |
| as a percentage of net sales |         |             |            |
|                              |         |             |            |
|------------------------------+---------+-------------+------------|
|                              |         |             |            |
| Employees (FTEs, average)    |   1'047 |         970 |       7.9% |
|                              |         |             |            |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+



* Proposed to the Annual General Meeting on April 27, 2009


The Belimo Group is a leading global manufacturer of innovative
electrical actuator solutions in heating, ventilation and air
conditioning systems. The Group achieved sales of CHF 404 million in
2008 and employs more than 1,100 people. Information regarding the
Company and its products is available on the internet at
www.belimo.com.

The shares of BELIMO Holding AG have been traded on SIX Swiss
Exchange since 1995 (BEAN).

There will be a media information session on the 2008 financial
statements and a presentation for analysts in the WIDDER HOTEL in
Zurich today, starting at 10:30 a.m.


Contact         Beat Trutmann, CFO              Tel. [phone]
                                                65


Diary dates     Annual General Meeting          April 27, 2009
                Semiannual results and          August 2009
                shareholder letter
                Publication of preliminary      February 2010
                results for 2009
                Year-end media briefing session March 8, 2010
                Annual General Meeting          March 29, 2010



The Annual Report 2008 can be downloaded from the following link:


http://hugin.info/100133/R/1297330/295114.pdf


The press release can be downloaded from the following link:


 
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BELIMO Holding AG
Brunnenbachstrasse 1 Hinwil 

WKN: 897962; ISIN: 
CH0001503199; Index: SPI, SPIEX, SSCI;
Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange;