APC 2010 Annual Report Download - page 5

2010 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 3
A signifi cant improvement in profi tability
The strategy pursued since 2009 under the One company
programme largely contributed to the strong growth in2010, as
well as the clear improvement of our margins. By simplifying our
organisation, we have gained in effi ciency, reduced costs and
improved our competitive position structurally. Schneider Electric
is today turned towards its end markets, as each business is
leveraging the company’s entire portfolio for its key customers.
We have also simplifi ed the supply chain, concentrated the
number of suppliers and reorganised our ITsystems. Therefore,
the strong rebound of our business in 2010 was immediately
translated into our results. As a consequence, we will propose
to our shareholders a raised dividend of EUR3.20 per share,
but also make all the necessary investments to drive continuous
growth. In particular, we are increasing our investments in R&D
and in innovation, which account for 4% to 5% of sales, and in
developing new businesses, mainly in energy effi ciency solutions,
systems for renewable energies and services.
A commitment on all fronts to sustainable development
Sustainable development is a conviction, a commitment at all
levels of the company and in all its dimensions, from a ethical,
social, environmental or corporate perspective. This is also an
important growth driver for Schneider Electric which has decided
since long ago to pursue a pro-active, innovative and concrete
policy, whose effi ciency is measured regularly.
Schneider Electric’s employees are the main drivers of this
growth and the company’s success. Their diverse skills represent
an incomparable advantage for our company. Located in more
than 100countries, we want to attract and work with the best
talents in the world on global topics and to adapt the strategy to
local conditions. All these diverse skills are a source of creativity
and competitiveness, not only between different nationalities,
but in gender also, and we actively encourage this. We pay very
particular attention to developing our employees’ skills, in order to
speed up their career development.
On the environmental front, Schneider Electric wants to be
exemplary in managing the environmental impact of its sites and
on its energy consumption. In parallel, we are proud to support
our customers in their approach to sustainable development by
providing an increasingly wide range of environment-friendly offers
and precise information on their characteristics.
At the corporate level, Schneider Electric’s commitment and its
capacity for innovation are extremely well illustrated by BipBop,
the access to energy programme. It offers products and solutions
for 300 million households across the world lacking access to
electricity, training for young people in the electricity fi eld, but
also the necessary funding for the business initiatives among
the poorest populations in the world. The project was launched
in India in 2009, with the design of a modular solution for low
consumption lighting, In-Diya. In 2010, the BipBop programme
was rolled out in Southern Asia, in Africa and in Latin America.
The continuous growth dynamic
We enter 2011 with a solid momentum. The development
of new zones of the planet is continuing, creating more needs
for electrifi cation, infrastructures and industrialisation that are
fundamentally positive for our company. With rapid digitalisation of
the economy and an increasing number of critical applications, we
guarantee reliability. With energy costs spiraling in many countries,
we provide energy effi ciency. Finally, the smart grid is becoming
more and more critical and it will bring profound changes to our
industry.
We are positioning ourselves in a structured manner to seize all
these opportunities and to generate strong growth in this new
phase of the business cycle. We will continue to implement our
strategy and to invest heavily in the technologies to support its
implementation. We owe our performance to our employees in the
past year. It is our priority to continue to invest in their skills and
their ideas, so as to give them the means to develop our common
project. Schneider Electric’s growth should also represent a
considerable opportunity for the personal development of our
employees.
PRESIDENT AND CEO
MESSAGE FROM JEAN-PASCAL TRICOIRE