• Grontmij restructures from six geographic regions to three business lines: Water & Energy, Transportation & Mobility and Planning & Design.
• Each business line to be headed by a newly appointed Group Director
• Enhanced strategy 2010-2015:
  • to increase organic revenue growth and profitability
  • to optimise local market positions, and increase efficiency
  • to be complemented by acquisitions
  • cross-border selling and knowledge sharing underpins strategy
• 2010: execution of cost reduction plan, first benefits in second half of the year, and implementation of new organisational structure. 

Grontmij will restructure the business from six separate geographical regions to three business lines in line with the most profitable and fastest growing markets; water, energy, and transportation next to sustainable planning and design. Grontmij will begin to operate and report across three business lines, namely; Planning & Design, Transportation & Mobility and Water & Energy.

Furthermore, Grontmij announces an enhanced five year strategy with a focus on profitability, organic revenue growth and further expansion by acquisitions. The company will leverage its local expertise to allow greater knowledge sharing and cross selling internationally across the business. At the core of the strategy is the principle of sustainability by design which is a leading proposition for Grontmij’s customers.

Sylvo Thijsen, CEO, comments ‘Our strategy to 2015 is a logical next phase in the development of Grontmij. Five years ago, we were mainly active in the Netherlands. After a period of sustained organic growth, complemented by acquisitions, our company is now one of the leading design and management consultancies in Europe. Based on our local strongholds, focussing on innovations and expertise across the company and actively pursuing new markets for these, we will continue to grow the company and increase our profits. Especially in the current economic climate, the organisational change will enable us to better anticipate demand, unlock synergies and leverage this across geographical borders. The new organisational structure offers opportunities for our people too with growing opportunities to work in new geographical locations and with expanded international expertise. Our long term goals are ambitious; nevertheless in the short term we have to absorb the economic challenges by reducing our cost base according to our Q3 announcement.’

Cross selling, operational excellence and acquisitions to enable future growth
The enhanced strategy is focussed on organic revenue growth and a further increase of profitability complemented by acquisitions.

To bolster organic growth and margins, Grontmij will focus on leveraging customer knowledge, references, skills and expertise from local markets to ensure better cross border corporation. This will also enable the company to improve the service level to multinational clients and benefit from the vendor reduction trend. In addition, Grontmij will continue with selective tendering and also focus on selected customers in the most profitable and fastest growing markets; water, energy, transportation and sustainable planning and design.

Grontmij will also continue with the execution of the cost reduction plan announced in November 2009. The company will secure and optimise its strong local market positions by lowering the overhead costs and standardise operation models, for instance in IT and risk management. Furthermore, Grontmij will focus on cash conversion, lower working capital and improvement of treasury management. It is expected that total cost savings in 2010 will amount to € 3-5 million.

The acquisition strategy is unchanged. Any acquisitions will be made only where they have the potential to enhance the position in our home markets, or provide for a solid entrance position in chosen fast growing markets (such as Central & Eastern Europe). In addition to existing financial conditions, Grontmij’s acquisitions will need to satisfy the following strategic criteria:

• The further enhancement of the Water & Energy and Transportation & Mobility business lines
• Penetration into new, fast growing regions
• The acquisition of new competences, technologies or customer groups, provided that this strengthens Grontmij’s market position

From countries to business lines
The crux of the enhanced strategy is that Grontmij will restructure the business from six separate geographic regions to three business lines. The three business lines Water & Energy, Transportation & Mobility and Planning & Design, reflect the long term external market drivers that Grontmij can benefit from during the next five years such as climate change, population growth and urbanisation and the expansion of the European Union and metropolitan areas across the world. As such, Grontmij will pursue organic growth in the most profitable and fastest growing markets; water, energy, transportation and sustainable planning and design.

Water & Energy (approx 30% of Total Revenues) will cover services such as water, waste, waste water treatment, sustainable industrial processes, energy techniques and renewable energy – all of which are linked by the types of (technical) processes inherent to the work we do.

Transportation & Mobility (approx 25% of Total Revenues) will cover services such as mobility management, roads, railways, tunnels, waterways, traffic management systems and airports – all elements of enabling mobility and movement.

Planning & Design (approx 45% of Total Revenues) will cover the multidisciplinary services in the local markets such as environmental management and design, urban planning, building, construction, land use, leisure and landscaping – everything which influences the places and spaces within which people live and work.

New top management structure, three new Group Directors appointed
The shift from a geographical segmentation to business lines will mainly impact the top-line management of the organisation. The current two COO functions, combining the position of Country Managing Director with a statutory directorship of Grontmij NV will cease to be.

As from 12th January 2010, the Executive Board will consist of Sylvo Thijsen, CEO and Mel Zuydam, CFO. Together with three new Group Directors they will form the Group Executive Committee based in headquarters in De Bilt. The three new Group Directors, all recruited internally, will each be responsible for one of the business lines and for a number of countries.

Gert Dral will head up Planning & Design, Ulf Palmblad will lead Transportation & Mobility and Lawrence Hughes will become responsible for Water & Energy.

Gert Dral will lead the Planning & Design business line and will also be responsible for Denmark and Sweden. Since joining Grontmij in 1976, Gert has held various management positions; the most recent of which as Managing Director of Grontmij’s Netherlands operations and also as Chief Operating Officer covering the Netherlands and Belgium.

Ulf Palmblad will be responsible for the Transportation & Mobility business line along with the Netherlands and Belgium. Ulf has overseen the impressive turnaround of Grontmij’s Swedish business since joining the company four years ago as Managing Director of Grontmij in Sweden. The programme of change has included restructuring and changing the business model and improving performance of the 800+ people working for Grontmij in Sweden

Lawrence Hughes will be responsible for the Water & Energy business line and will also oversee the United Kingdom, Ireland and Poland. Lawrence has proactively driven Grontmij’s expansion in the UK and Ireland since joining the company as Managing Director in 2002. He has overseen the regional operations’ extensive organic growth as well as a number of strategic acquisitions which boosted turnover to over € 100 million in 2008.

Birgit Nørgaard, member of the Executive Board of Grontmij N.V. and Managing Director of Grontmij Denmark supports the Group’s initiative to ensure greater cross country cooperation, but decided not to accept the Group Executive Committee position offered and will leave the company to pursue new interests. Mrs. Nørgaard, former CEO of Carl Bro AS, was appointed to the Executive Board of Grontmij N.V., after the acquisition of Carl Bro by Grontmij N.V. in August 2006 for a period of four years.
In line with existing contracts and contracts agreed upon when Grontmij acquired Carl Bro, Mrs Nørgaard will receive a severance payment of one year annual income in addition to notice.

The Supervisory Board and Executive Board regret the departure of Birgit Nørgaard but are grateful for her dedication to the company over the past years. Sylvo Thijsen says, ‘It is with sadness that I have to announce that Birgit has decided to leave Grontmij. I would like to thank Birgit for her outstanding contribution during the first years after the merger of our companies. I wish her all the best for the future.’

Sustainability by design
Grontmij continues to lead the industry sector in its approach to Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability. This is integral to Grontmij’s business of creating sustainable living and working environments. Grontmij is one of the few European design and management consultancies that reports its sustainability and CSR performance to the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative. This year, Grontmij will take an additional step and assure the CSR report through external accreditation with the aim of gaining level B+.

In 2010, the company’s CSR strategy will become embedded into its formal business processes. Grontmij’s commitments to, and performance in, reducing its environmental footprints for CO2, energy, water and waste will become part of the company’s environmental management systems and so will be subject to third party validation as part of its ISO14001 accreditation.

It is Grontmij’s ambition to become carbon neutral as an organisation by 2013 through a combination of energy efficiencies and the use of sustainable sources of energy.

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Invitation to attend audio webcast analyst’s conference call
We are pleased to invite you to listen to the audio webcast of an analyst’s conference call today, 12 January at 10:00 hrs CET. Analysts who would like to participate in the conference call can register with Grontmij at +31 30 220 7515

Notes to Editors
Grontmij is a leading sustainable design and management consultancy active in the growth markets of water, energy, transportation and sustainable planning and design. At the core of our business is the principle of sustainability by design which is a leading value proposition for our customers. Grontmij is the fourth largest design and management consultancy in Europe with over 150 offices across Europe and a further 20 offices globally. We employ over 8,000 professionals across the world.

Our value chain of services stretches from major renewable water and energy infrastructure through designing efficient and environmentally-sensitive mobility and transportation networks to shaping our urban and green living spaces. 

Whilst we are approaching our 100th anniversary, and benefit from the experience nearly a century provides, we prefer to look to the future to enhance the world we live in. By applying sustainability considerations to all our design, consultancy and management services right across the value chain, our highly-skilled, expert people are able to create lasting solutions that plan for, connect and respect the future.