| | Waterford Wedgwood PLC AND THE TWO: Global Gap Analysis And Labor Productivity Benchmarks Published SAN DIEGO, CA -- – ICON Group International Ltd. today released two of the most comprehensive studies to date on vertical gap analysis and labor productivity benchmarks for Waterford Wedgwood PLC (LON, DUB: WATF). The methodologist for this unique study is Philip Parker, Eli Lilly Chair Professor of Innovation, Business and Society at INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France and Singapore). According to Professor Parker “We created these reports in response to two inescapable trends: a return to fundamentals and globalization.” The goal of these reports is to assist consultants, financial managers, strategic planners, and corporate officers in gauging indicators of Waterford Wedgwood PLC’s financial and human resource structure. The Report has benchmarked Waterford Wedgwood PLC against competing firms in the Pottery and Related Products Manufacturing industry worldwide—going beyond traditional methods of company benchmarking. The results are two specialized reports: (1) global financial benchmarks using common-size statement ratios (vertical analysis), and (2) labor-productivity and utilization measures collected across borders. Parker notes, “With the globalization of markets, greater foreign competition, and the reduction of barriers to entry, it becomes all the more important to benchmark a company’s financial indicators on a worldwide basis.” Professor Parker states, "We are intrigued by the wide variations in basic financial and productivity measures between Waterford Wedgwood PLC and other Pottery and Related Products Manufacturingcompanies. The Earnings Before Interest And Taxes (EBIT), for example, varied from -2.04 to 18.52. We see this type of variation in the hundreds of ratios that we estimate.” What? : The Coverage of the Reports Two reports, financial ratios and labor productivity ratios, are available for Waterford Wedgwood PLC. Each report reveals productivity and industry ranks for companies in the Pottery and Related Products Manufacturingindustry. Reports for 21 of Waterford Wedgwood PLC’s competitors in Pottery and Related Products Manufacturingare also available including: American Standard Sanitaryware Public Co., Ltd. BHS tabletop AG Churchill China Plc Constantia-Iso A.G. CoorsTek Incorporated Deroma Holding SPA Dongsu Industrial Co. Ltd. Fayenceries de Sarreguemines, Digoin and Vitry-le-Francois Frauenthal Keramik (CERAM) AG Hackman Oyj Abp INAX Corporation Keramag-Keramische Werke AG NGK Insulators Ltd Oneida Limited Pagnossin SPA Portmeirion Group PLC Rosenthal Aktiengesellschaft Sanitec Oyj Abp Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd Tomita Electric Co., Ltd. Vista Alegre Atlantis S.G.P.S. S.A. Waterford Wedgwood PLC The reports answer such questions as: How has Waterford Wedgwood PLC’s asset structure varied compared to global benchmarks for the Pottery and Related Products Manufacturingindustry? Does it generally hold more cash and other short-term assets, or does it tend to concentrate its assets in physical plant and equipment? On the liability side, does Waterford Wedgwood PLC typically have a higher percent of payables compared to the benchmarks, or does it hold a higher concentration of long-term debt? Does Waterford Wedgwood PLC have a relatively higher cost of goods sold, operating costs, or income taxes compared to global benchmarks? Have Waterford Wedgwood PLC’s returns on equity been higher or its profit margins greater? What has been the ratio of short-term and long-term assets to employee? What are typical capital-labor ratios? What are the average sales and net profits per employee compared to global benchmarks? How? : The Methodology Most vertical analyses merely focus on benchmarking against domestic ratios, often published by government agencies or commercial sources. In contrast, the report calculates thousands of industry norms by looking at firms at the global level, pooling statistics on tens of thousands of companies across over 40 countries, and applying a seven-stage methodology: (1) identification of industry classifications, (2) firm-level data collection and aggregation, (3) standardization of raw statistics, (4) filtering outliers, (5) calculation of global norms, (6) projection of deviations and gaps, and (7) projection of ranks and percentiles. For each part of the financial statement, the larger structural differences and gaps between Waterford Wedgwood PLC and the global benchmarks are provided with summary tables of ranks and percentiles. Previously available only through booksellers such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Hoovers, two studies are now available direct from the publisher at a 50% discount off the cover price. This special offer includes International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis and Labor Productivity Benchmarks and International Gap Analysis at US$ $420 ($210 each). Fax, 858-635-9414 or write , for more information. FINANCIAL BENCHMARKS Audience: designed for financial managers, directors, CFOs, strategic planners Price: $210 Pages: 81 pp Published: Table of Contents About the Author(s) Methodology/Excerpt (free to view) Order Via Fax Order Online LABOR BENCHMARKS Audience: designed for productivity managers, HR directors, strategic planners Price: $210 Pages: 70 pp Published: Table of Contents About the Author(s) Methodology/Excerpt (free to view) Order Via Fax Order Online About ICON Group Ltd. ICON Group Ltd. assists managers with global benchmarking, gap analysis, and productivity studies. Clients can create their own benchmarks by choosing their competitors from among over 20,000 companies. CONTACT: Orders & Customer Service ICON Group International, Inc. 7404 Trade St. San Diego, CA 92121 USA Fax: 858-635-9414 E-mail: Link: http://www.icongrouponline.com/PR/Waterford_Wedgwood_PLC_IE/PR.html - Additional links you may find of interest:
Important Disclaimer: This report was not prepared on behalf of or for Waterford Wedgwood PLC. Please refer to alternative information sources on Waterford Wedgwood PLC for the following: company financials (quarterly reports, annual report, forecasting, analyst reports, stock filing history, investor reports and relations, SEC or EDGAR documents, 10K, 10Q, articles, news press releases, projections, predictions, forecasts), products or services (warranty, guarantee, credit, equipment, accessory or accessories, service, repair or repairs, rebates or rebate policy, product discount or discounts, part or parts supply, price or prices, book value or valuation, logo design), personnel information (jobs, careers, career training, job placement, employment, human resources department, employee compensation or salaries, salary policy, benefit policies for employees, university benefits, credit union benefits), finding corporation location or contact information (map, company mail, mailing street address, corporate investor contacts, website web site, email search, e-mail addresses, regional offices, dealers list, distributors listing, stores directory, outlets, contact names, CFO, CEO, COO, CIO, CTO, HR, office manager, people, welcome, conference, etc.), geographic or production locations (e.g. USA, UK, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, China), legal structure or business activity (corporation, incorporated, company, partner, partnership, partnerships, alliances, limited liability, corp., inc, ltd, co, lawsuit or lawsuits), management plans (marketing strategy or strategic intelligence). ICON reports do not comment on any of the above. |  |