CSA Annual Report 2005/06

Serving you, with results

With a strong contribution from all divisions, CSA Group revenues increased 8% this past year (15% at constant exchange rates).

CSA, our standards development and learning centre division, posted a remarkable 27% growth rate - evidence of the demand for innovative solutions and timely service. In 2005/06, we increased our efforts in promoting standards and stakeholder engagement as important ways to deal with business and societal issues.

CSA forged alliances with key stakeholders in the health, environment and public safety communities and collaborated with other major standards developers such as ISO, IEC and ASTM. In a testament to the vital role of standards in society, compliance to CSA standards are now specified for Quebec blood banks, transfusion services and medical laboratories - thanks to our close cooperation with Health Canada, the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation and the Health and Social Services Ministry of Quebec.

QMI also enjoyed strong growth last year and remains North America's leading registrar of management system audits. Its recent acquisition of a competing registrar (QCB) is now fully integrated. Business cycle times have been reduced and new e-business tools are delighting our clients who report high satisfaction with our service. With the addition of offices in China, QMI is well-placed to serve the growing global needs of its clients.

CSA International responded well to an unprecedented increase in requested product certifications in 2005/06. Much of this demand came from organizations wishing to move business from a competitor to our CSA mark. We increased staff levels by 14% so as to accommodate this business without compromising our own high level of service.

Expanded service in China has resulted in additional business wins, while the opening of a testing laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia enables lighting manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with energy efficiency and safety standards.

OnSpeX, CSA Group's newest business, continues to grow to our expectations, tripling its revenue over the previous year. Although it accounts for a relatively small part of our overall revenues, OnSpeX is now established in China and well positioned to provide significantly more service to North American retailers who seek assistance with supply chain risk management, including product performance evaluation.

Beyond these financial results, we are pleased to report continuous improvement in several new key performance indicators (Purpose KPIs), including cycling safety and industrial personal protective equipment.