Strategy
The Group's Strategic Way Forward
Following the successful turnaround in fiscal year 2009/2010, we defined a new strategy for the Group in the reporting year. Market and customer focus, coupled with innovation and engineering expertise, form the framework for sustainable success.
Global trends are our growth base
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The economic strength of the emerging countries, above all Brazil, India and China, is growing rapidly. Global trends such as demographic change, increasing urbanization and globalization of trade flows provide major impetus for steadily rising demand. The world needs "more"– whether it's consumer and capital goods, infrastructure, energy or raw materials.
Rising demand is faced with constraints, above all the finite availability of resources and the need to protect
our environment. Global climate change is leading to stricter rules for industry, requiring efficient use of
resources and raw materials. So the world doesn't just need "more", above all it needs "better" solutions:
better use of resources, more efficient infrastructure, greener production processes and more efficient
consumer and industrial goods.
This opens up significant opportunities for ThyssenKrupp. With our broad and leading engineering expertise in many areas we can meet demands for both "more" and "better" – in the industrialized countries and also in the emerging markets – and so create clear competitive advantages both for us and for our customers worldwide.
In a further step, ThyssenKrupp sold treasury shares equivalent to 9.6% of the capital stock at the beginning of July 2011. We sold 49,484,842 shares at a price of €32.95 per share, resulting in a cash inflow of €1.6 billion. The shares were placed mainly with German and international institutional investors in an accelerated bookbuilding. The transaction strengthened equity and reduced net financial debt. ThyssenKrupp AG now no longer holds any treasury shares.
The strategy is supported by a new Group mission statement. Over 1,300 employees from all business areas worked on its development – among other things in workshops in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, China, Hong Kong, Dubai, India, South Africa and Germany. As a new "corporate constitution" the mission statement creates a common roof for all the Group's employees. It requires and promotes more transparency, openness and teamwork in our operating culture. Highest standards and common values such as reliability, integrity and responsibility determine our actions. We are a materials and technology company and meet the challenges of the future with our customers.
Source: Annual Report 2010/2011, p. 50-52
