Press release
March 23, 2011

• A successful year for Movares Nederland
• Noticeable downturn in government contracts
• Movares goes CO2 neutral

Engineering consultancy Movares Nederland has had a successful year. Movares achieved a turnover of € 168.5 million, an increase of € 2 million over 2009. Net profit was € 6.2 million, as against € 3.8 million in 2009. Movares has two home markets, the Netherlands and Poland. As the year went on, the effects of government investment cuts became steadily more apparent on the Dutch market. The company’s good results are due largely to a healthy first six months and to savings made early on. The closing months of 2010 were considerably more difficult, and give a hint of what to expect in 2011.

Market conditions in Poland improved markedly during 2010. As a result, Movares Polska has a well-filled order book and achieved a modest profit. Movares Deutschland operates on a niche market, specializing in signalling and train control systems. Movares' German operation had an excellent year.

Key figures

Employer of the year
In September 2010, Effectory declared Movares “employer of the year” in the category for companies with more than 1000 staff. This prize brings objective confirmation of the social innovation process that has determined the social agenda at Movares in recent years. This process involves management, unions, the works council and staff, and is based on trust. Ultimately, pleasure in one’s work and mature working relationships are what determine the atmosphere of a company and the degree to which it achieves success.

Sustainability
Sustainability is an important issue for Movares. At the end of 2010, the company achieved Level 4 on the CO2 ranking system maintained by Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail. Our operations have become even more environment-friendly, and since January 2011 we have been climate-neutral. This has been achieved through a compensation programme that dovetails well with Movares’ philosophy. In 2011, Movares will continue to introduce measures that will help the company reduce CO2 emissions.

Developments on the Dutch market
From mid-2010 onwards, Movares has been experiencing the effects of spending cuts by central government and other public bodies. The Mobility and Spatial Planning Division felt the effects particularly keenly, but the Rail Division was also affected.  Projects involving area development and buildings were particularly hard hit. In order to ensure that Movares is well equipped to deal with these developments, the company has set up a programme entitled ‘Be Prepared'. The programme addresses both the cost aspects of the business and the need to keep orders coming in. From summer 2010 onwards, Movares has been reducing the number of external staff, in order to accommodate the reduction in work without having to dismiss permanent employees.

The Rail Division acquired a number of important contracts, including work on the Zuidas (a metro line in the southern part of Amsterdam) and Maasvlakte 2 (in the Rotterdam area), and picked up a preferred supplier contract with rail infrastructure manager ProRail. Movares has also been involved in developing and building the extra tracks to increase frequency on the line between Vleuten and Geldermalsen (near Utrecht) and refurbishing the marshalling yard at Arnhem. In addition to all of this, Movares was involved in just about every light rail project in the Netherlands!

The Mobility and Spatial Planning Division suffered something of a fall in turnover during 2010. However, the Division was involved in strategic policy studies on the development and integration of high-quality public transport in various major cities and conurbations. Working in conjunction with the Dutch Green Building Council, the Division has been promoting sustainability.  The Division's architects and consultants also contributed to the Cradle2Cradle bridge at the Floriade exhibition site in Venlo.

The turnover of the Infrastructure Division rose by almost 20% in 2010. Most of this growth came from contractors and waterway operators. Major contracts included work on the A2 for Heijmans as part of the Dutch emergency infrastructure legislation, plus the rebuilding of the N242 trunk road for MNO Vervat. On the waterways market, Movares acquired framework contracts for customers such as Waternet and the Noorderkwartier water management authority. Movares helped organize a symposium on innovative dike design, as part of a programme to promote research into ways of responding to climate change, and this drew considerable interest from the sector. Other innovations also attracted attention from our customers. Examples included a new risk-based management method for power company Stedin, plus infrared inspections of structures for the Dutch Directorate-General of Public Works and Water Management.  Movares Energy played an increasingly active role in the area of sustainability, especially in the field of ‘smart grids.' Electric-powered transportation also began to take on increasing importance.

The future
Markets are likely to remain unpredictable. Movares has taken a number of measures that allow the company to look to the future with confidence. There is likely to be a slight decrease in personnel during 2011. However, Movares expects that maximum effort to acquire new business, together with appropriate reductions in cost, will enable the company to do well in 2011.

For more information: please contact:

Marleen Peeters, press officer Movares
M +(31)651137102
E marleen.peeters@movares.nl