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Going forward, we are focusing on three key strategies to drive
profit growth. First, we will continue to pursue promising acquisition
candidates while intensifying our sales and marketing efforts,
particularly in life-science and pharmaceutical services, as
well as in safety products focused on homeland security. Second,
we will improve our margins by growing sales of our proprietary
products and services, reducing product costs and consolidating
facilities, all of which benefit both our customers and Fisher.
Third, we will continue to increase our cash flow, enabling
us to fund future acquisitions and pay down debt – decreasing
our interest expense. Executing this strategy will enhance our
operating strength and profitability in 2003 and beyond.
In its first century, Fisher Scientific survived two world wars,
the Great Depression, several recessions and other major challenges,
but it continued to grow and prosper. I am confident that the
strength of our diverse product and customer base, the consumable
nature of our product portfolio, our expanded offering of customized
services, and our leadership in serving developing fields of
science will continue to fuel our growth.
I am grateful to Fisher’s employees, customers, suppliers,
investors and directors for their continued support in our pursuit
of excellence. Because of them, I am confident that our second
century will be even better than our first. Working together,
we can go beyond the expected.
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