CHG-MERIDIAN Business Year 2008

For the business year of 2008 ending on 31 December, the CHG-MERIDIAN group has recorded an investment volume (i.e. the total procurement costs for new leasing equipment) of 651.6 million euros. With this figure corresponding to the previous year’s record-breaking value, “we are satisfied with this result, although significantly higher figures would have been possible, but actually were not achieved due to the fact that we were faced with longer periods of decision-making on our customers’ side”, stated Dirk Stobbe, CEO Sales. “However, as these projects have only been delayed, the outlook for 2009 remains positive,” Stobbe continues. “We are particularly pleased that we were able to maintain our operating profit even in a difficult environment.”

During the past year the headcount of CHG-MERIDIAN Group increased to 553 staff members, which corresponds to a growth of 10.8 %. At the year end, 395 staff members were employed in Germany alone – a strong growth resulting from the company’s strategy to offer its customers individual, integrated solution concepts. “Many of our customers not only expect us to offer the classical financing solution, but also a solution covering their entire management and IT infrastructure. Besides the procurement and implementation of hardware, this also includes assistance during the leasing period and safe data erasure on returned computer equipment,” explained CEO Peter Horne, who is responsible for the Service division. 

To provide this array of tasks and services, CHG-MERIDIAN engages its own specialists and project management experts as well as manufacturers and external service providers. The individual scope and contents are defined in close cooperation with customers. In the field of IT re-marketing, a total of four hundred thousand device units were processed and re-marketed in the logistics centres in Egham near London and Mörfelden near Frankfurt. This corresponds to an increase of 40 % as compared to 2007. In addition, the offer of “safe data erasure“ to a TÜV-certified procedure found significantly higher acceptance with a total of 63,000 units safely erased in 2008 and the results tripled as compared to the previous year.

“Overall, we are stating an increasing demand for our concepts,“ reported both CEOs. “As a result of the general economic situation, many companies are seeking opportunities to improve their liquidity and yield cost savings – and this is exactly what our concepts are lending themselves to.”

About the CHG-MERIDIAN Group
The CHG-MERIDIAN Group is one of Europe's leading providers of full-service IT leasing. Established in 1979, it offers its clients a fully comprehensive IT infrastructure service – from the planning and finance stages via the procurement process and installation to the collection and remarketing of equipment at the company's dedicated logistics and brokerage centre. The independence and in-depth expertise of CHG-MERIDIAN's staff ensures that each client receives the best possible customised service.