Analysis Annual Report 2010 Bayer Essay Example for Free (#2010)

Analysis Annual Report 2010 Bayer Essay Which indicators have been brought forward in the annual report of the company? Which specific targets are aimed at? How does the group state and assess the evolution of profitability in the annual report? Is there more recent public information about this issue? Where? Is this information in line with the one mentioned in the annual report? Is it indicating a similar evolution? What are the main propositions of the company to improve its profitability? What is the global financing strategy of the group? What is the evolution of the financing cost (several indicators)? What is the shareholders’ remuneration program? What are your sources (of information) regarding this issue? What are the main investment / disinvestment policies? How are these investments financed? What is the outlook of the company regarding this issue? What are the most important consolidated subsidiaries? (Eventually mention the approximate number of subsidiaries)? Are there associated companies? What is the evolution of the income attributable to shareholders (or result part of the group)? What are the comments of the company regarding this issue? What kind of indicators does the company report about shareholder value? Are those indicators compared with other information? Does the group announce the non-publication of some standards? If yes, for which reasons? Among explanatory notes associated with the consolidated accounts, choose one that is relative to a specific standard. For this note, report essential characteristics that highlight the differences in terms of recording and reporting in the relation to Belgian GAAPs. What is the impact of IAS/IFRS referential (if any) on the account that is concerned by this note? Global diagnostic Is there important recent information about this company? Would you invest in this company? Why? Business sector What is the main business of the group? Firstly, we have to know that Bayer was founded in Barmen, Germany in 1963 by Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott his partner. It is a global and an inventor company with core competencies in the domain of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. They produce and provide services to benefit people and improve their quality of life. In addition, they seek to create value with the help of innovation, growth and high earning power. For them, sustainability is very important for their social and ethical responsibilities. Its headquarters are in Leverkusen. This is one of the largest phamarceutical companies in the world and has three sebgroups: Bayer CropScience, Bayer HealthCare and Bayer MaterialScience. Led by the management holding company, they also have three services companies which operate independently: Bayer Business Services, Bayer Technology Services and Currenta. Are there other activities, complementary businesses within the group? Bayer CropScience has products in crop protection and nonagricultural pest control. It also has activities in seeds and plant traits. Bayer HealthCare is Bayer’s pharmaceutical and medical products subgroup. It is involved in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of products. It comprises a further four subdivisions: Bayer Schering Pharma, Bayer Consumer Care, Bayer Animal Health and Bayer Medical Care. Bayer MaterialScience is a supplier of high-tech  ­polymers, and develops solutions for a broad range of applications relevant to everyday life. Bayer Business Services located at the Bayer USA Headquarters in Pennsylvania. It handles the information technology infrastructure and technical support aspect of Bayer Canada and USA. Bayer Technology Services is engaged in process development and in process and plant engineering, construction and optimization. Currenta offers services for the chemical industry, including utility supply, waste management, infrastructure, safety, security, analytics and vocational training. What are the main group’s competitors? The main group’s competitors are Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Sanofi Aventis. Indeed, GlaxoSmithKline have the second post in the pharmaceutical’s world just behind Pfizer. Sanofi Aventis is in fourth place and Merck & Co and Bayer share the third place. Which main risks (that are inherent to this business sector) does the company mention? Which hedging policies are put in place? Business operations necessarily involve risks. So according to Bayer, effective management of risks is a key factor in sustainably safeguarding a company’s value. Risks are assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively in determining strategies of the strategic business entities. The risk management system is set on the Group Intranet. Directive published explains the basic principles of this management in accordance with German Law.According to Bayer Group, the definition of the risk is represented by events and possible developments within or outside of the group that would decrease the value of the company. These risks are described as follows: Legal risksBayer Group is exposed to numerous legal risks from legal disputes or proceedings to which they are currently a party †¦ So it is therefore possible that legal or regulatory judgments could significantly affect the revenues and earnings of the company.Industry-specific risksSome governments intervene directly in setting prices and the government reimbursement systems favoring less expensive generic pharmaceuticals over brand-name products, which diminish earnings from Bayer’s pharmaceutical products and could potentially render the market introduction of a new product unprofitable. So if it necessary, Bayer’s Group adjusts his business plans according to the significance of governmental intervention. Sales of the Group are subject to seasonal fluctuations and CropScience business particularly affected by weather conditions. Moreover the early identification of trends in the economic market is important elements of the Bayer’s Group business management. Finally where it appears strategically advantageous they may acquire a company or part of a company and combine it with their existing business. The integration processes associated with their acquisitions are steered by integration teams. Appropriate resources are provided to support the integration processes.Product development risksThe Group’s competitive position, sales and earnings depend significantly on the development of commercially viable new products and technologies’ production. So they therefore devote substantial resources to research and development. Furthermore it is possible that effects of their products may be discovered after regulatory approval or registration. So litigations and associated claims for damages due to negative effects can materially diminish their earnings.Regulatory risksOur life science businesses, in particular are subject to strict regulatory regimes relating to the testing, manufacturing and marketing of many of our products. In some countries regulatory controls have become increasingly demanding like in the USA or in EU. That may increase product development costs. So Projects have been initiated to coordinate the implementation of new regulatory controls and mitigate any negative implications for the business. Patent risksA large proportion of Bayer’s products is protected by patents. When a patent defense is unsuccessful, or if one of our patents expires, our prices are likely to come under pressure because of increased competition from generic products entering the market. The legal department, in conjunction with the relevant functional departments, regularly reviews the patent situation. Potential infringements of Bayer’s patents by other companies are carefully monitored so that legal action can be taken if necessary. Production, procurement market and environmental risksProduction capacities at some of their manufacturing facilities could be adversely affected by, for instance, technical failures, natural disasters †¦ This applies particularly to the biotech products because of the highly complex manufacturing processes. If in such cases they are unable to meet demand they may suffer declines in sales revenues. So they address product and environmental risks by way of suitable quality assurance measures. In addition, they are committed to the international Responsible Care initiative of the chemical industry. IT risksMajor disruptions or failure of global or regional business systems may result in loss of data and impairment of business and production processes. As a consequence technical precautions such as data recovery and continuity plans have been established together with the internal it service provider to address this risk. Risk to pension obligations from capital market developmentsThe Bayer Group has obligations to current and former employees related to pensions and other post-employment benefits. Changes in relevant valuation parameters such as interest rates, mortality and rates of increases in compensation may raise the present value of the pension obligations. This may lead to increased pension costs or diminish stockholders’ equity. Financial risksIn this part we are speaking about the management of financial and commodity price risks. As a global enterprise, Bayer is exposed in the normal course of business to credit risks, liquidity risks and various market price risks that could materially affect its net assets, financial position and results of operations. The various risks associated with financial instruments are outlined below together with the relevant risk management systems. In this risk there is a lot of subcategories: Credit risks: arise from the possibility of the value of receivables or other financial assets being impaired because counterparties cannot meet their payment or other performance obligations. To effectively manage the credit risks from trade receivables, Bayer has put in place a standardized risk management system Credit limits are set for all customers. Finally to minimize credit risks, financial transactions are only conducted with banks and other partners of first-class credit standing in line with predefined exposure limits. Liquidity risks: arise from the possibility of not being able to meet current or future payment obligations because insufficient cash is available. Those problems are centrally managed in the Bayer Group. Sufficient liquid assets are held to meet all of the Group’s payment obligations when they fall due, thereby ensuring solvency at all times. The size of this reserve is regularly reviewed and adjusted as necessary to current conditions. Then credit facilities also exist with banks. Markets risks: relate to the possibility that the fair value or future cash flows of financial instruments may fluctuate due to variations in market prices. Market risks include currency, interest rate and other price risks, especially commodity price risks. Currency risks: since the Bayer Group conducts a significant portion of its operations outside the euro zone, fluctuations in currency exchange rates can materially affect earnings. Currency risks are identified, analyzed and managed centrally and systematically. The scope of hedging is evaluated regularly and defined in a corporate directive. Then a significant proportion of contractual and foreseeable currency risks is hedged, mainly through forward exchange contracts and currency options. Interest rate risks: The Bayer Group’s interest rate risks arise primarily from financial assets and liabilities with maturities exceeding one year. Interest rate risks in the Group are analyzed centrally and managed by the central finance department. This is done in line with the duration set by the Board of Management, which implicitly also includes the ration of fixed-rate to floating-rate debt. Then the duration is subject to regular review. Other price risks (especially price risks): The Bayer Group requires significant quantities of petrochemical feed stocks and energy for its various production processes. The prices of these inputs may fluctuate considerably depending on market conditions. This applies particularly tothe MaterialScience business. They have addressed this risk by concluding long-term contracts with multiple suppliers. The operation of their production facilities requires large amounts of energy, mostly in the form of electricity and steam. To minimize the exposure to energy price fluctuations, they aim for a balanced diversification of fuels for steam production and a mix of external procurement and captive production for power generation. As we can see the overall risk assessment is based on a consolidated view of risk each. There were no risks identified may endanger the existence of the group in 2010. And this is the continuation of the previous year. Which indicators have been brought forward in the annual report of the company? Which specific targets are aimed at? The profitability of a company makes the relationship between the results obtained by the company and the means used to achieve this result. The result of a business can be estimated thanks to different criterion, such as:Operating income: Which one measures the earnings generated from the production activity of the company? The profit of the year: Which measures the net result of the company, when expenses and benefits have been taken into account? The Value Added: which measures the wealth created thanks to the production function of the company? Similarly, the means used by a business can be measured by:The total of assets: this corresponds to the measurement of assets used by the company to produce. The equity: measurement of all financial resources used to produce starting. Capital stock: it is all the financial resources made available to the company by shareholders. We must not forget that a business can be profitable but still have a lower profitability of its sector. That’s why its profitability should be compared with the one of its main competitors. Thus a possible lack of competitiveness could be detected. There are 3 kind of profitability: Return on assets ; Return on equity. The profitability indicators highlighted by the Bayer Group in its annual report are the following: EBIT (before special items) & EBITDA (before special items); Cash flow return on investment ; Earnings per share ; ROE (return on equity); ROA (return on assets). So concerning specific targets we believe that shareholders, investors and potential investors, suppliers and staff are the key audiences that are intended profitability indicators. How does the group state and assess the evolution of profitability in the annual report? Is there more recent public information about this issue? Where? Is this information in line with the one mentioned in the annual report? Is it indicating a similar evolution? The group assesses its profitability by focusing on the various indicators mentioned above. In its annual report, the group highlights a number of indicators of profitability, which are: EBIT & EBITDAThese indicators are reported in order to allow a more accurate assessment of business operations. The company considers EBITDA before special items to be a more suitable indicator of operating performance since it is not affected by depreciation, amortization, impairments or special items. By reporting this indicator, the company aims to give readers a clearer picture of the results of operations and ensure greater comparability of data over time. EBIT for 2010 came in at â‚ ¬ 2,730 million whereas it was â‚ ¬ 3,006 million in 2009. This decrease is due to several factors that are: Sales of the Bayer Group rose by 12.6% from the previous year to â‚ ¬35,088 million; in 2009 the amount was â‚ ¬31,168 million, thanks largely to the recovery in the Material Science business. Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects, sales grew by 8.0% ; The cost of goods sold advanced by 13.0% to â‚ ¬17,103 million. This was mainly due to a considerable increase at MaterialScience, which in turn resulted chiefly from the growth in volumes and higher average raw material prices for the year. The ratio of the cost of goods sold to total sales was 48.7%, this ratio increased by 0, 1%, it was 48, 6% in 2009. Selling expenses rose by 11.1% year on year to â‚ ¬8,803million, it was â‚ ¬7,923million in 2009, and were thus equivalent to 25.1% of sales. Health Care accounted for the greater part of the increase. The group raised their research and development expenses in 2010 by a further 11.2%,the amount increased from â‚ ¬2,746million in 2009 to â‚ ¬3,053million in 2010; Analysis Annual Report 2010 Bayer. (2016, Dec 09).

Strategic Management Process CS 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Management Process CS 1 - Essay Example But there is a need to emphasize more on employee satisfaction in the statements. In a competitive industry like beverage industry employee is the most important part for a company along with the customers. So the company should add the benefits they are providing to the employees in the value statement. Despite that the mission, vision and value statements of the company is well structured and forward looking. Introduction In this modern world only one thing is constant- that is change. So in the world of change for matching the steps with the competitors the companies have to formulate a robust strategy for them. Every company have some short and long term objectives which they want to meet. Coca-Cola is not an exception. This paper is an attempt to analyze critically the mission, vision statements and the values of Coca-Cola using the view of the famous strategist Michael Porter. The researcher would also suggest any change needed in the statements if needed. Critical Analysis of the Mission, Vision and Values Mission Mission statement of a company describes the reason of the existence of the organizations. It also describes the value they are offering to the customers (Swales and Rogers, 1995, p.225-226). The mission statement of Coca-Cola is â€Å"To refresh the world... To inspire moments of optimism and happiness... To create value and make a difference.† (Coca-Cola Company, 2011) The mission statement of Coca-Cola is describing the reason of their existence through their first two statements and about the value creation through the 3rd statement. The statement accounts for the customers’ interest. The expectation of the shareholders’ is also met. If the company is able to meet the expectations of the customers, it can generate revenue, and the return of the shareholders will get a boost. But through this statement the interest of the other stakeholders’ like the employee expectations is not met, not also the community. Vision The vision statement of the company should focus on the future and provide a solid foundation for the organization. The vision statement doesn’t change like the objective or goal of the company, which is of short term. The vision describes the long term strategy of the company as well as the stakeholders’ importance more precisely (Lipton, 1996, p.84-86). The vision statement of Coca-Cola is as follows. â€Å"People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.† (Coca-Cola Company, 2011) The vision statement of Coca-Cola emphasizes on the interest of the stakeholders. Their long term strategy is enhancing their portfolio so that they can meet the expectations of different target customers. The corporate social responsibility factor has also been addressed by the company management

The actual economic bailout of Wall Street and the individual Essay

The actual economic bailout of Wall Street and the individual homeowner bailout by Jeffrey Fu - Essay Example The federal regulation kept the interest on the loans low, which gave room for Fannie Mae. Its counterpart, Freddie Mac, bought billions of dollars and then fed the market to feed them, of which they were risky mortgages bought. The subprime mortgages initially aimed at borrowers who had low or poor credit cases or histories. A great number of people invested and went into a great deal of debt, since the house prices were high till when they started dropping, which brought about the huge losses (NRCC 1). This paper is a comparison and contrast of the actual economic bailout plan of Wall Street and the individual home owner bailout plan. Mortgage meltdown is a common term used to mean subprime mortgage crisis due to the credit crisis in 2008 (Bianco & Pachkowski 1). There were two proposed bailout plans. First was the Economic Bailout Plan of Wall Street announced by Henry Paulson, that holds reverse auctions (Miron 5). A newer expanded version of the bill passed included the buying o f equity positions in the banks, reducing the interest rates and expansion of the deposition insurance. The other plan is Individual Homeowner’s Bailout Plan that has two versions where in one version, the government helps by giving a loan paid as soon as one is financially stable, and the other comes in form of a government grant. In both cases, they don’t involve the principal reduction on the value of the house, and payment is done directly to the mortgage provider. The government share is the same as the percentage reduction in the income of the home owner and it ceases when the financial state is restored. The economic bailout plan has the reverse auctions whereby they buy the assets troubled or in debt of the home financial institutions. Also, the use of taxpayer money to buy equity positions in the country’s biggest banks. All these are aimed to try to stabilize the financial markets and avoid the eventual bank failures and credit freeze that comes with i t (Miron 7). This approach is aimed at taking the taxpayers money to the investors and insured depositors. The home owners on the other hand will keep on plunging into deeper debts. The individual home owner’s bailout plan uses the taxpayer’s money just as the economic bailout plan, but in this case, the government uses the money to try to keep the house with the home owner in either giving a loan or as grant. In case of failure to pay up, the house is put up for foreclosure (Foote, Fuhrer, Mauskopf & Willen 2). At the end of 2005, the housing industry became expensive and this in turn would trickle down to the banks, hence the need to make a plan to avoid the collapse of the major banks came to play. The economic plan stated the buying of equity positions in the major or bigger banks using the taxpayer’s money. The plan allowed for the buying of equity positions to Freddie and Fannie in case of a collapse or destruction, using the taxpayer’s money. This will create a separate entity that is a regulator to Freddie and Fannie, and Federal Home Loan Bank system (NRCC 2). This in turn raises the debt pool. These government institutions enjoy a great deal of bailout money, but there is also the fact that cannot stop the decline of these institutions, and still need an increase in the bailout money (Weiss & Larson 1). The individual bailout plan focuses on the home owner and uses a different approach to get the same results. This approach is designed to help the home owner raise money for the mortgage, and the fact that it is directly paid to the mortgage providers, makes it easier to meet this