2015 AT A GLANCE
2015 has been a strong year for our Heavy-Duty Vehicles
segment, despite the narrowing price delta between
natural gas and oil. The market remains robust. Existing
end customers remain committed to their programs,
however adoption rates by new customers have been
slower than previously estimated. We expect this to
change when the price of oil rebounds.
Strong sales in 2015 were driven by the new 27-inch
diameter cylinder in North America, which was launched
in the beginning of the year. High demand for CNG-
powered transit buses in the US and Europe was also a
main factor. We see increasing momentum in the Asian
and South American bus markets, mainly in response to
environmental concerns.
Our Mobile Pipeline™ business faced challenging market
conditions throughout the year, which resulted in a
substantial reduction in realized orders. North American
orders from the oil and gas sector have stopped, and
general macro-related uncertainties have delayed
investment decisions in Latin America. We continue to
expect significant growth opportunities in these markets
medium and long term, but have limited visibility at this
point in time.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are essential to the global
low-carbon, low-emission future. We are well positioned
across the hydrogen value chain with strong operations
supporting passenger cars, transit buses, ground storage
and backup power solutions. We expect increasing
momentum during 2016.
In 2015 Hexagon Ragasco entered several new geographical
markets. We expect this to support our strategy of im-
proved capacity utilization in the second half of the year,
which historically has been slow due to seasonality in
Europe. Long-term agreements suggest composite
cylinders are the preferred choice of many LPG resellers.
Hexagon Composites maintains an expectation of significant growth despite
the impacts of low oil and diesel prices experienced recently. The increasing
global focus on lower emissions and reduced particulates will drive demand for
natural gas, biomethane, hydrogen and other alternative fuels in the coming
years. In 2015 Hexagon Composites consolidated its operations to position
itself for this growth.
Words from the Group President
2015 AT A GLANCE
STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES GROUP RESULTS
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