trading update - third quarter 2011

Aalberts realises a good third quarter 2011

In the third quarter of 2011, the activities of Aalberts Industries developed well thanks to the solid order position, the active market approach associated with product launches and the start of various investment projects. Also a lot of attention was paid to the continuous improvement of efficiency.

Industrial Services
The market trend of the first half year continued in almost all markets with the exception of the semiconductor market, which slowed down in the third quarter. Partly due to the continued expansion investments at different customers, the automotive market continued the good trend. The precision mechanical engineering and the turbine industry also remained favourable, while the metal & electro, energy and defence markets showed a similar picture with the first half year.

The investment projects in the United States, Poland, India and China have further been developed and implemented. Industrial Services was able to strengthen the market position in surface treatment technologies in France, Germany and Eastern Europe with the acquisition of DEC and Galvanotechnik Baum with a combined annual revenue of EUR 30 million and approximately 345 employees

strong>Flow Control
The markets for Flow Control showed a persistent mixed picture. There were positive trends in the field of district heating, gas, beer & soft drinks, fire protection, energy-efficiency systems and in various industrial markets. Also, the activities relating to renovation, maintenance and commercial buildings were in line with the first half year; the newbuild market remained challenging.

The activity level in Germany and France developed well. In Eastern Europe the favourable trend continued, particularly in the area of district heating, gas and plastic piping systems. Also the Scandinavian market remained in line with the first six months. In the Benelux and the United Kingdom conditions were challenging. The different industrial markets in the United States were good. Spain, Portugal and Italy remained difficult

Flow Control continued to intensify cross-selling, innovation of existing and new products and key account management

Outlook
The combination of good developments in the first nine months, the solid order position,  an active market approach and continuously striving for efficiency improvement will lead according to expectations to an increase in revenue and earnings per share for the whole of 2011 – barring unforeseen circumstances.

Solid balance sheet ratios remain maintained due to the continuing strong focus on profitability and the control of working capital and costs.