In addition to exceeding three billion euros in annual sales for the first time, laser manufacturer Trumpf has reported pre-tax income increases of 11.3 per cent to €337.2 million and a 21 per cent increase in orders received to €3.4 billion over the 2016/17 fiscal year ending 30 June 2017. Performance was particularly impressive in South Korea, where sales increased 58 per cent to €211 million, making the region Trumpf’s fourth-largest market worldwide this year.
Trumpf, which now employs more than 12,000 people, attributes its upturn in sales to the strong global economy, according to CEO Dr Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, who stated that political developments worldwide have had little impact so far on business in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
‘The prevailing strength of the global economy has been outweighing potential impediments to investing: pledges of protectionist measures, the Chinese government’s approaches to disseminating information, and the UK’s exit negotiations with the European Union,’ she said. ‘All the same, we do forecast clouds over the investment landscape in the medium term.’
Germany continued to be the largest single market for the firm, with sales of €622 million, followed by the United States (€421 million), China (€404 million) and South Korea (€211 million). Markets in Western Europe also performed well, with year-on-year sales growing 55 per cent in the Netherlands and by 28 per cent in Italy.
Leibinger-Kammüller added that Trumpf had used the past fiscal year to press ahead with its digital business pursuits and the architectural expansion of some company sites, causing its investments to rise by 45.6 per cent year-over-year to €200.4 million, half of which was used to construct buildings. In addition to the completion of a production facility in Neukirch, Germany, a new logistics centre was built at Trumpf’s headquarters in Ditzingen – unveiled to the public at on 19 October 2017. An Industry 4.0 demonstration factory was also opened in Chicago last month.
Expenditures on research and development rose by 7.5 per cent to €318.3 million, amounting to 10.2 per cent of the total sales.
Despite some turbulent geopolitical circumstances, Trumpf expects orders received and sales to continue to rise in this fiscal year as well. ‘The first quarter certainly has gotten off to a promising start,’ Leibinger-Kammüller concluded. ‘We’re therefore optimistic that we can once again reach a higher single-digit percentage increase in sales this fiscal year.’
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