ZUG, Switzerland--(Business Wire)--
Landis+Gyr, the world's largest electricity metering company, today announced
the finalization of a US$100 million shareholder capital raising to fund the
company`s rapid growth in smart metering.
"Our existing shareholders` active support of the company is a tribute to the
global potential of smart metering and Landis+Gyr`s unique position to
capitalize on that opportunity", said Landis+Gyr CEO, Cameron O`Reilly.
"Despite the global financial crisis, Landis+Gyr continues to grow and our
shareholders continue to invest in that growth. The substantial growth we are
currently experiencing in our U.S. business is compensating for the challenging
trading environment in Europe, and allowing the company to have orders, sales
and profits that are exceeding expectations. Given our strong global leadership
position and the increasing commitment of governments, regulators and utilities
around the world to recognize the critical role that smart metering has to play
in driving energy efficiency and conservation, we are very optimistic about the
industry", O`Reilly continued.
"In Europe, the EU recently announced its path-breaking Energy Package including
a Directive requiring at least 80% of homes to have a smart meter by 2020 and
100% by 2022. Last week, the Obama Administration approved US$3.4 billion in
smart grid funding, most of which is going to accelerate the roll-out of smart
metering systems across the country. Similar government and regulatory moves in
Canada, Australia, and China are increasingly making this a global opportunity."
Landis+Gyr is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this global opportunity. The
company has won more than US$1 billion of new orders around the world this year,
including major contracts in Australia, across the Nordics countries, and in the
United States. The company spends approximately US$90 million per year on
research and development to ensure that it has the broadest technology portfolio
in the industry and has recently released its latest generation in-home display,
targeting the rapidly growing market for in-home energy monitoring and
management. In addition to its smart metering wins, the company has also had
substantial success in South America and India with its new anti-theft
technologies which enable utilities to provide electricity to areas that
otherwise might go without.
One of Landis+Gyr`s largest customers, Oncor, the owner and operator of the
largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, recently announced an
important milestone had been achieved in L+G`s US$300 million contract to
provide an end-to-end smart metering solution. More than 400,000 smart meters
have now been deployed across the Dallas metro area and Oncor anticipates nearly
700,000 advanced meters will be in place by year-end, making the deployment one
of the largest and most quickly installed in the US.
In further steps towards Smart Grid development, the company has this year also
announced leadership partnerships with SAP, Cisco, and Microsoft to accelerate
the delivery of standards-based solutions for the energy industry and facilitate
the integration of existing capabilities with renewable power sources, home
automation, plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles (PHEV) and distribution
automation functionality. The deployment of smart metering and the consequent
empowerment of consumers to actively participate in the energy market is the
first step towards the creation of a `Smart Grid`, an electricity network that
can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it -
generators, consumers and those that do both - in order to efficiently deliver
sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies.
About Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr is the leading provider of integrated energy management solutions
tailored to energy company needs. With a global presence and a reputation for
quality and innovation, Landis+Gyr is unique in its ability to deliver true
end-to-end advanced metering solutions. Today, the Company offers the broadest
portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is
paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annualized sales of
more than US$1.25 billion, Landis+Gyr operates in more than 30 countries across
five continents, and employs over 5,000 people with the sole mission of helping
the world manage energy better
Financial Community, please contact:
Landis+Gyr
Stan March,
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications,
tel. 646-205-3119
Stan.March@landisgyr.com
or
Media, please contact:
FD
Thor Valdmanis,
tel. 212 850 5696
thor.valdmanis@fd.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
