Media release 22 May 2012
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Endress+Hauser exceeding expectations in 2011
Measurement engineering specialist with record-high results:
1.5 billion euros in sales, 820 new jobs and 177 million euros profit
Endress+Hauser has ended the year 2011 with figures far exceeding expectations.
Surprisingly powerful business developments made for new records in sales,
headcount and profit. For the current year, the global measurement engineering
group, headquartered in Reinach, Switzerland, expects solid growth.
Presenting the financial results in Basel, CEO Klaus Endress made no secret of his surprise about
the good development. The sovereign debt crisis and the resulting currency upheavals, but also
the natural disasters in Asia with bottlenecks in the supply of electronic components, he said,
had stretched the company’s employees to their limit. “But we nonetheless grew across most
regions and industrial sectors.”
Endress+Hauser increased net sales by 16 percent to 1.5 billion euros. The Americas showed
even stronger dynamic growth than Asia, but sales in Europe also grew with double-digit
figures. Only Africa and the Middle East fell behind expectations, a consequence of the political
unrest in the Arab region and Northern Africa.
Strong drivers boost development
Michael Ziesemer, as COO the CEO’s deputy and in charge of sales, sees “strong driving forces”
behind these successful business figures – global megatrends such as the growing demand for
energy and resources, or the necessity of energy efficiency and environmental protection.
Important issues with substantial future impact, he said, could only be solved with the help of
measurement engineering.
The Group achieved the biggest growth in the oil & gas industry. The Enterprise Framework
Agreement with the energy group Shell shows that Endress+Hauser has established itself as a
serious supplier in this industry. Sales in the chemical industry developed strongly, followed by
power & energy, food & beverage, primaries, life sciences and water & wastewater industries.
Growth creates new jobs, also in Europe
The powerful growth in sales went hand in hand with a boost in employment. The Group
counted 9,414 employees at the end of 2011, 820 more than the year before (plus 10 percent).
474 of these jobs were created in Europe, 297 of these in the Swiss-German-French region
around Basel where the two biggest production centers, several Group companies and the
holding company are located.
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Media release 22 May 2012
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High productivity raises profit levels
The good capacity utilization of the plants was also reflected in higher productivity. The
Operating profit rose by 32 percent to 247 million euros, earnings before tax by as much as
46 percent to 243 million euros. The financial year was marked by strong currency exchange
fluctuations. Although the euro fell by an average of 10 percent against the Swiss franc, the
exchange rate at the year-end closing date was only 2.5 percent lower than the year before –
unlike in 2010, the impact on the financial result was therefore moderate.
Net income exceeded 177 million euros (plus 40 percent), another record-high figure, the
equity ratio reached almost 70 percent. The Group has over 443 million euros in liquid assets,
with just 40 million euros in bank liabilities. Endress+Hauser, said CFO Dr Luc Schultheiss,
stands on financially firm ground. At the end of 2011, the 50-year-old took over from Fernando
Fuenzalida (69). The former CFO will join the Group’s Supervisory Board.
Endress+Hauser Group invests and acquires
After two years of reticence, the Group increased investments by 49 percent to 85 million
euros. Expansion focused mainly on production capacity, for instance in Maulburg, Gerlingen
and Waldheim, Germany, Greenwood, Indiana/USA, and Cernay, France. The Dutch sales
center moved into a new building in Naarden. Endress+Hauser set up a sales subsidiary in Saudi
Arabia and opened an representative office in Vietnam.
The capital resources allowed the Group two strategic acquisitions. Endress+Hauser bought a
minority share in Finesse Solutions, a US company specializing in one-way solutions for
biotechnological processes. This is where Klaus Endress sees a “key technology” for many spinoffs in process engineering. Another promising acquisition, the CEO says, is Systemplan
headquartered in Durmersheim, Germany. The engineering bureau offers its consulting services
to businesses in energy efficiency, supplementing Endress+Hauser’s respecting offerings in
measurement engineering, software and engineering services.
Confidence in spite of uncertainties
Endress+Hauser has set a growth target of 11 percent for the current year. Figures are
moderately below budget at present, said Klaus Endress, with China in particular not living up
to expectations. “But our figures are robust. There is neither recession nor crisis right now.”
Nevertheless the CEO mentioned severe uncertainties owing to the continuing sovereign debt
crisis and the tensions in the euro zone.
Endress+Hauser aims to invest 140 million euros this year, mainly in production facilities in
Germany, France and Switzerland, but also in the United States, China and Brazil where a new
production facility goes up for flow, level and pressure measurement engineering. Around 700
new jobs are expected to be created worldwide. By the end of the year, Endress+Hauser will
most likely top the 10,000 mark in terms of headcount.
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Media release 22 May 2012
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The Endress+Hauser Group
Endress+Hauser is a global leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process
engineering. In 2011, the Group generated with around 9,500 employees worldwide net sales of 1.5 billion euros.
Structure
Company-owned sales centers and a network of partners guarantee competent worldwide support. Production
centers in eleven countries meet customers’ needs and requirements quickly and effectively. The Group is managed and coordinated by a holding company in Reinach, Switzerland. As a successful family-owned business, Endress+Hauser is set for continued independence and self-reliance in the future.
Products
Endress+Hauser provides sensors, instruments, systems and services for level, flow, pressure and temperature
measurement as well as analytics and data acquisition. The company supports customers with solutions and services in automation engineering, logistics and information technology. Our products set standards in quality and
technology.
Industries
Customers are primarily from the chemical/petrochemical, food & beverage, oil & gas, water/wastewater, power &
energy, life science, primaries & metal, renewable energies, pulp & paper and shipbuilding industries. Endress+Hauser supports its customers to optimize their process engineering procedures while taking into consideration reliability, safety, economic efficiency and environmental protection.
History
Founded in 1953 by Georg H Endress (1924 – 2008) and Ludwig Hauser (1895 – 1975), Endress+Hauser has
been solely owned by the Endress family since 1975. The company group, headed by Klaus Endress since 1995,
has developed from being a specialist in level measurement to a provider of complete solutions for industrial measuring technology and automation, with constant expansion into new territories and markets.
For further information, please visit www.press.endress.com or www.endress.com
Contact
Monique Juillerat
Corporate Director Public Relations
Endress+Hauser AG
Kägenstrasse 2
4153 Reinach BL 1
Switzerland
Email
Phone
Fax
monique.juillerat@holding.endress.com
+41 61 715 77 29
+41 61 715 28 88
Specimen copy requested
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