Acuity Brands Inc.
June 2, 2011 – 3:14 pm
Business Profile
Acuity Brands, Incorporate a company that controls and manages two business i.e. specialty products and lighting equipment. These separate businesses serve distinct market. The company through its lighting equipment business manages designing, production and distribution of various varieties of outdoor and indoor lighting fixtures, which have application in institutional, commercial, infrastructure, industrial and residential sectors. The target market for this segment is all of North America and some selected regions internationally. On the other hand the specialty segment helps in formulation, production and distribution of specialty chemicals which are used in deodorizers, cleaners, sanitizers, pesticides etc. The application of these products is primarily into institutional, industrial, commercial and residential market with focus on various places in Europe and North America.
The lighting segment of Acuity Brands is a leading provider of fixtures and it includes brands like Holophane®, Gotham®, Lithonia Lighting®, SpecLight®, Hydrel®, Peerless®, American Electric Lighting®, MetalOptics®, Carandini® and Antique Street Lamps™. In case of Specialty Products segment the leading brands are Zep Commercial®, Enforcer®, Zep®, and Selig™.
The company has its head quarter at Atlanta in Georgia. It has employee strength of approximately 10,600 people. Out of total, approximately 6,600 have employment in the United States location, 3,100 people are in Mexico, in Canada there are approximately 350 employees and balance 550 are in international locations i.e. Asia Pacific region and Europe. It has operations across North America and in Asia and Europe. The company with its two businesses, functions with help of 22 manufacturing units. Amongst these 10 of them are in the United States, six of them are in Mexico, 5 are in Europe and balance one is in Canada.
The stock of the company i.e. Acuity Brands is listed on NYSE under the ticker of “AYI.” Acuity Brands registered net sales of $2.4 billion in fiscal year 2006 compared to $2.17 billion in year 2005 which is approximately increase of 10.1%. The lighting equipment business division contributed to 77% while specialty products business division had remaining contribution of 23%. The net income of the company was $106.6 million compared to that of $52.2 million in 2005. In 2006, diluted earning per share was $2.34 in comparison to $1.17 in 2005, which is an upward of 100%.
Following are brief description of business segment of company:
Lighting Equipment
This business segment of Acuity Brand is under operation by name of ABL i.e. Acuity Brands Lighting. ABL is a prominent and one of the leaders in lighting fixtures used in new constructions, maintenance and renovation applications. The product of ABL covers wide range of outdoor & indoor lighting for C&I i.e. commercial & institutional segments. Other applications are in industrial, residential and infrastructure. The company has manufacturing and procurement office in Mexico, Europe, the United States and China. Prominent brand names under the umbrella are Holophane®, LithoniaLighting®, Hydrel®, Gotham®, Peerless®, Carandini®, SpecLight®, American Electric Lighting®, Antique Street Lamps™ and Metal Optics®. The products of ABL are manufactured in 16 plants which are spread as 13 in North America and 3 in Europe.
The main customers in this segment include retail home renovation / maintenance centers, distributors in electrical equipment, national accounts, municipalities, electric utilities and lighting show rooms which are located in select international marketplace and in North America. ABL has independent agents, sales representatives etc who are responsible for sale and catering to specific geographic locations and market segments in North America. The channel of distribution is through distribution centers, warehouses using external carriers and company owned fleet of trucks.
The products in this segment are used in following applications:-
• C&I – Commercial & Institutional – They are primarily hotels, stores, offices, hospitals, schools, public buildings and government structures. Products include fluorescent lighting, recessed downlighting, track lighting and special lighting. Outdoor products include flood lighting, landscape lighting and decorative lighting.
• Industrial – It is used in warehouses and various manufacturing units. Products are acrylic and glass fluorescent lighting etc
• Infrastructure – It is used in highways, tunnels, railway yard, airports and ports. Products are street lighting, high-mast, off-set roadway & sign lighting.
• Residential – Products are fluorescent lighting, downlighting and utilitarian products.
• Other Applications – It includes emergency lighting with application in non-residential buildings and systems related to lighting control & flexible wiring.
Specialty Products
This business segment is operational under name ASP i.e. Acuity specialty products. This segment provides specialty products in chemical industry with application in retail, institutional and industrial markets. Products include sanitizers, cleaners, polishes, cleaners, disinfectants, floor finishes, deodorizers, degreasers, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Six manufacturing units are location across with four in North America and two in Europe.
Company has market in Western Europe and North America. The company services various business segment including transportation, education, food industry, government, automotive, hospitality etc. Retail channels are small & large home centers for improvement, mass merchandisers, hardware stores etc. Prominent brands are Enforcer®, Zep Commercial®, Zep® and Selig™.
The products in this segment are used in following applications:-
• Food Processing – Used in dispensing systems and for anti microbial system.
• Food Preparation – Used as cleaning product in food industry.
• Transportation – Used in maintenance and cleaning in aircraft, automobiles, trucks, trains, public transport etc
• Industrial – Used in cleaning and maintenance of products
• Hospitality – Used in dispensing solutions and for maintenance, housekeeping, laundry etc
• Government – Used in maintenance of cities, schools, military, districts, fire stations, police etc
• Contractors & Home – Used in cleaning, sanitization etc.