World Fuel Services 2002 Annual Report Download - page 6

commercial ship-owner, A.P. Moller of
Denmark, has grown steadily reflecting
their increasing confidence in our abil-
ity to add value and perform a global
service as a strategic purchasing part-
ner. This success has further validated
our marine business model and has
generated interest from other large
international fleets. This success fur-
ther reinforces our long-term strategy
of building a total outsource business
model and range of service offerings in
the marine space.
Corporate Efficiency:
When we look at the Company over-
all, one of the most exciting develop-
ments that followed the management
transition this year is the increased
sharing of best practices between the
marine and aviation divisions. As we
continue to find opportunities for both
segments to share resources in the areas
of supply, marketing, credit, legal and
back-office processing, we will better
leverage our resources across the
Company. At the same time, we
remain focused on our corporate mis-
sion and on improved team productiv-
ity. An important next step in this
process was the move to our new cor-
porate headquarters, which occurred
on March 3, 2003. It is a new building
that we have laid out to improve work-
flow and increase productivity
throughout the organization. We were
able to take advantage of a weak com-
mercial real estate market and have
achieved this important initiative with
a minimal increase in costs.
It is a very exciting time for World
Fuel Services Corporation. We have
packed a few full years’ worth of change
and transformation into a 9-month
period, and are pleased with the results
our team has delivered and the direction
we have chosen. Our balance sheet is
strong, our cash position at the end of
the year was $58 million and we con-
tinue to generate significant free cash
flow. Our days of sales outstanding are at
an all time low of 30 days. We are expe-
riencing good organic growth, and con-
tinue to evaluate a variety of acquisition
opportunities. Going forward, we will
continue to make significant invest-
ments in business systems and people,
as both are critical to the successful
development of our business model.
We recognize that sustaining steady
growth is a challenge when the entire
world faces an uncertain economic
future. The markets are skittish and pro-
jections for growth have been cautious
across a broad cross section of industries.
And, of course, overshadowing the
entire market is the ongoing war on
terrorism and the difficulty of predict-
ing with any precision its ultimate
impact on the economy and our under-
lying industries. In spite of all this, we
are confident that we will continue to
grow in the coming year. Our service
offering is fundamental to the trans-
portation industry and demand for it
only increases when markets are uncer-
tain and prices are volatile. We have
successfully diversified our business
model, deepened our management
team and aggressively managed our
risk. Our Company is strong both
financially and culturally and our busi-
ness model is durable for now and the
long term. As management we are
patient, disciplined and highly focused
on building the leading transportation
fuel services franchise in the world. We
are confident our shareholders will be
well rewarded and we appreciate your
continued support.
Paul H. Stebbins
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Michael J. Kasbar
President and Chief Operating Officer
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