Oberthur sees strong 2007 growth

Oberthur Technologies has announced its results for 2007, revealing a surge in sales and operating income.

The results are a combination of the former Oberthur Card Systems and the Security Printing and Cash Protection (SP&CP) assets of its parent company, FCOF.

The firm achieved 2007 sales of 733.4 million euros, up 14% on 2006. It says this strong growth is the result of sustained demand in its Card Systems and Fiduciary activities, with Card Systems seeing an increase in sales of 13% over 2006.

Total gross margin was 61.9% of sales compared to 58.8% in 2009. Oberthur says this showed a strong growth thanks to weaker price pressure in the Card activity, optimisation of purchasing performance and also an improvement of the product mix in its Security Printing business.

The firm says industrial reorganisation of its cards business into major regional centres has enabled it to achieve economies of scale while maintaining geographical proximity to its customers.

Oberthur generated a net income of 32.5 million for 2007, an increase of 116% on the previous year. This represents a 0.29 euro earning per share.

The firm says it achieved a record level of operating cash flow in 2007 at 88.9 million euros, compared to 16.7 million euros in 2006.

Its Card Systems activities benefited from better conditions in terms of volume and price. Its sales were 591.4 million euros, up 13% on 2006’s figure of 523.9 million euros. However, market growth was lower than expected in its Identity business, with delays in deployment of approved programs. Sales grew by 3%. Operating income for Card Systems jumped to 45.2 million euros, a 137% increase on 2006.

The company says it is now addressing a number of identified market growth drivers, including electronic ID, with recent success in Taiwan, Brazil, Finland and Poland.

Its Security Printing and Cash Protection (SP&CP) activities also saw increases, with revenue growing by 16.3%, led by gains in security printing.

Oberthur says the ID market is a priority for the future growth of the company. One of the early successes recorded so far this year was the award of the Taiwanese ePassport contract. “This validated the strategy of a tighter combination of Card Systems and Security Printing teams to address this market,” says the firm

Earlier this month it initiated its public offering on XPonCard. The acceptance period should end on 4 April. So far it has secured 63% of shares in the Swedish firm.