Machine manufacturer presents digital business platform 'AXOOM' -
Leibinger-Kammüller: 'A key solution on the way to the Smart Factory'
In the 2014/15 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, the laser and machine tool manufacturer TRUMPF successfully achieved a further sharp increase in profits. Income before taxes rose by 43.8 percent to €357 million, while the net operating margin was 13.1 percent. This growth is due in part to a one-off effect from the sale of the company's Medical Technology division, effective August 1, 2014, which positively impacted the result by an additional €72 million. Adjusted for this effect, the net operating margin improved from 9.6 to 10.5 percent.
TRUMPF also boosted its sales significantly. Despite the discontinuation of the Medical Technology division, consolidated sales increased in relation to the previous year by 5.0 percent to €2.72 billion – so TRUMPF actually managed to over compensate for the €184 million contributed by the medical technology companies during the 2013/14 fiscal year. In an annual comparison adjusted for the Medical Technology factor, revenues increased by 12.6 percent.
There was a further shift in regional sales distribution. Germany still remained the largest single market, but on a slightly declining trend. Behind it, the United States and China switched places, and China became TRUMPF's largest foreign market for the first time. TRUMPF registered good gains in Western Europe, especially in France and Italy.
'In the final analysis, our strategy of growth through innovation, regional diversification and targeted acquisitions in our core business has been a successful one,' said TRUMPF President Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller. The overall number of employees – 10,873 as of June 30, 2015 – remained at the level of the previous year. The research and development ratio in relation to sales stood at 9.8 percent.
For the current fiscal year, Leibinger-Kammüller was cautiously optimistic, saying that the various geopolitical uncertainties and also the slowdown of growth in China meant that forecasts could only be vague. Overall, she hoped that the level of the previous fiscal year could be maintained, adding that single-digit growth was possible Group-wide.
For the first time, TRUMPF unveiled its far-reaching plans for Industry 4.0. 'For us it is clear that we won't be leaving the Smart factory to third parties, but will be taking the production connectivity into our own hands,' said Leibinger-Kammüller.
The focus here is on a new company: AXOOM GmbH, which was founded by TRUMPF in Karlsruhe and currently has 22 employees. It is developing an operating system with preinstalled apps for the world of production. The open, vendor-neutral platform enables reliable data transportation as well as data storage and analysis. At the same time, it offers solution modules for seamless order processing within a production operation. 'With AXOOM we're establishing an entirely new business model. We're offering all customers with industrial production processes the chance to organize those processes into one single system, all by themselves,' said Leibinger-Kammüller.
So, for the first time, TRUMPF will be the provider of an operating system. 'Our key advantage is that we have the machine base already in place. We're a software provider who really knows the market.'