Background Founded in 1881 by Anglo-German merchants, Metallgesellschaft AG (MG) was a German corporation based at the heart of Frankfurt. Throughout the years, Metallgesellschaft business evolved from metal trading to becoming highly successful in trade, finance, building technology, engineering and contracting, and chemicals. Annual revenues exceeding 17 billion US dollars reflected their immense success with a workforce of 50,000 employees in the early 1990s. The following timeline give a brief overview of Metallgesellschaft AG’s history dating from 1881 to 1992. Timeline of Events 1881 Metallgesellschaft AG founded as a metals trading company. 1882-1914 MG goes global - represented on all continents, also introduction of mine investments. 1918 Many foreign investments lost in World War I. 1920 Gesellschaft für Entstubungsanlagen (GEA) was created, producing dedusting equipment. 1939-1945 Huge destruction of MG and GEA facilities in World War II. 1945-1980 A wide arrays of product innovations were developed and lead to commercial success. 1989 GEA goes public. 1992 MG acquired a chemistry company. Until 1992, the company was a sound business, with constant product innovations and new market penetration. Furthermore, the company was also resilient in the World War I and World War II periods, recovering quickly to maintain operations. However, Metallgesellschaft dull days began in December 1993 when the corporation revealed a $1.3 billion losses caused by its own U.S. subsidiary, MG Refining and Marketing Inc. (MGRM). The subsidiary was responsible for the derivatives trades, which were the main causes for the losses sustained. Surprisingly, th... ... middle of paper ... ...aft AG case provides an array of lessons for businesses, professionals, and academics who are interested in the practice of proper exposure hedging to various risks. Lesson 1: Hedging vs. Speculating One of the biggest mistakes caused by MGRM was that their long-term obligations, that is, offering dealers’ 10-year contracts on oil at a fixed price, were not matched with long-term hedges. This turned the company’s investment into a precarious speculation practice. The company should have been more aware that the price of oil will not remain static, and is prone to exogenous events. In addition, the assumption that oil prices will remain in backwardation for ten years was an unsurprisingly bad bet. Furthermore, their positions were so oversized, to the extent that MGRM became a factor in the market price, resulting in positions becoming vulnerable and highly illiquid.
Conclusion Arnott comments on how investors should balance these risks to better understand the health of their company, or at least strive to manage two of the three. As talked about recently in class, I believe all focus should be pointed towards matching assets to liabilities because the safety accomplished through ALM opens up opportunities for increasing the companies net worth. I would
... fashion industry. I believe through all of their marketing tactics and great leadership they will continue to thrive. Although I am not a customer of the brand, I have found great interest in completing this product to explore and expand and broaden my fashion in the brand. The company has had consistent sales increase and if it continues to utilize its business plans wisely, I believe it will continue to increase.
The founhder of the company, Godfrey Keebler, started with jus a small bakery in Philadelphia, PA in 1853. During the next two generations, local bakeries popped up around the country, including Strietmann, Hekman, Supreme and Bowman. With the introduction of cars and trucks (carrying the Keebler logo), bakery goods could be distributed beyond the neighborhood and regional distribution began.
The company is also leading the way in innovativeness and has already received recognition for introducing innovative products. This is one of the strengths of the company since innovative products will help to differentiate its products from the other competitor products as well as the new products can be exclusively branded as compared to the other flagship products from older Soviet times.
Deutsche Brauerei has been a family owned and operated corporation for 12 generations, which has created a high level of focus and control. Each generation has kept the management and operations processes relatively simple, centered on brewing practices and quality. Deutsche Brauerei’s rapid growth in recent years can be attributed to several factors. First and foremost, the company’s success is centered on the product itself, which has won numerous quality awards and is quite popular in Germany. Another contributing factor to the recent growth may have been a bit inadvertent. The purchase of new equipment in 1994, which was necessary as a result of a fire that destroyed the old equipment, allowed the company to increase brewing capacity and efficiency. Finally, Deutsche Brauerei’s decision to enter the Ukranian market in 1998 contributed significantly to the rapid growth. The collapse of the U.S.S.R. brought market reforms, and Deutsche Brauerei jumped on the opportunity to enter the fragmented beer industry, capture the large population and capitalize on the prime location in Europe. Lukas Schweitzer was savvy enough to hire local expert Oleg Pinchuk away from a competitor as the marketing manager, and Oleg was instrumental in building the business in Ukraine by securing accounts and implementing the field warehousing to support distributors. Deutsche’s beer was hugely popular in the Ukraine almost immediately, and volume sales more than offset the depreciation of the Ukrainian currency. Sales in Ukraine accounted for 28% of Deutsche’s total sales, and skyrocketed from 4,262 euros in 1998 to 25,847 euros in 2001.
The company had to be the second largest retailer shop in the US; it has many advantages that come along. The customers well acknowledge the company and its brand have been well established.
In addition, I will describe the firm and its management. I will explain where this company come from and how this brand became so famous across the world in a short period of time.
This did not last long because just a quickly as they rose so did they fall. Within a year their stocks were down to little of nothing, and their name was not one someone wanted to be associated with. The downward spiral can be contributed to the organization culture and improper checks and balances.
Peter Munk, the founder of American Barrick had after experience and past failures come to the belief that high liquidity and low leverage were key tenets in a successful business. The increased flexibility obtained by following these guidelines should provide the company with opportunities that less hedged companies did not have. If gold prices were to fall then the company would not be affected by the distress costs that other competing companies would experience, giving the company an edge during times of low prices. During this time they would have additional cash reserves available to invest while other companies might be struggling to gain expensive debt financing. This is one of the major competitive advantages a gold company can have because the major costs in this industry is exploration and acquisition costs. Because of their strong financials and stability the company was also more likely to enter into more favorable contracts. The risk management program was meant to provide in...
In terms of financial performance both companies have performed well. This brief review will focus on the financial performance such as profitability, solvency and liquidity.
withstanding a large recession, and commanding high market share. In the last five years, the company’s
that made the company one of the most recognized companies of the world. The dynamic
Thirdly, the company is committed to delivering superior quality of products and services. It earned a reputation of a convenient and reliable brand that offers the lowest prices, one of the fastest and lowest shipping, widest selection of goods, and many additional features with its services.
has grown into a $49.7 billion corporation by clearly focusing on the goal of enabling commerce around the globe.
The company began as a “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering” which the founder Robert Bosch opened in Stuttgart in 1886.