Trumpf reports higher sales despite declining orders
October 25, 2019
The Trumpf Group has reported its financial results for the 2018/19 fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. The company recorded an increase in sales for the year, while orders received and profits declined.
In 2018/19, sales rose by 6.1% to €3.78 billion (2017/18: €3.57 billion). Orders received decreased to €3.68 billion, compared to €3.80 billion in 2017/18, a decline of 3.1%. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to €349.3 million, a fall of 34.7% from the prior year figure of €534.7 million.
Trumpf reported that its Machine Tools and Laser Technology business divisions were unable to maintain the high growth rates achieved in the previous year. Revenues for the Machine Tools division rose by a slight 1.2% to €2.39 billion (2017/18: €2.36 billion), while the Laser Technology division posted revenues of €1.38 billion, marginally below the prior-year result of €1.41 billion. The company attributes this decline to a slowing market in Asia (especially in China and South Korea) as well as to the automotive industry’s current reluctance to invest.
Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, Trumpf President and Chairwoman of the Managing Board, explained, “As a company operating in the investment goods sector, we are particularly exposed to the impact of cyclical highs and lows. That is currently the case. Given the uncertainty due to the US–China trade conflict and the structural change in the automotive industry, many customers have become more cautious and are postponing investments.”
As in previous years, Germany was the largest individual market for Trumpf, with sales of €721 million, up 0.2% compared to 2017/18’s result of €719 million. Sales revenue in the United States, the company’s second largest market, grew by 23.2% to €547 million (2017/18: €444 million). At around €460 million, the Netherlands was the third-biggest individual market, followed by China at €415 million, down from the previous year’s €457 million.
After a strong rise in the previous year, the company’s investments increased again by 33.3% to €288 million, compared to €216 million in 2017/18, in line with the company’s growth strategy. More than half of this expenditure concerned projects in Germany. Construction projects, the majority of which are being carried out at the company’s headquarters in Ditzingen, accounted for over €70 million of the company’s total investment.
