In the UK, TRUMPF sales performance in the year 2018/19 was as impressive as that of the overall company. The UK operation recorded an order intake of £65 million, and sales of £60 million a 29 % increase on the previous year.
Proven machines and systems across all TRUMPF technologies continue to prove popular with UK manufacturers with notable new additions. The introduction of the new modular format laser machines has been successful for TRUMPF along with a wider portfolio of automated bending solutions which supplied the growing demand from the market.
TRUMPF continues to introduce innovative solutions in the laser market, such as Highspeed Eco which reduces gas consumption while increasing processing speeds for the same laser powers. Another notable addition is Active Speed Control which automatically adjusts laser parameters based on material conditions to maximise process stability and quality
“We continued, for a second year, to see a high number of new customers and existing customers purchasing more complex solutions. There was also very strong growth in bending, especially automated bending.” explained Managing Director, Lee Moakes.
He continued: “TRUMPF is now providing its most comprehensive package ever to ensure its customers get the best return on their investment. We have also increased our technical service capacity by more than fifteen percent this year enabling us to be prepared for the further growth of both TRUMPF and UK manufacturing.”
Higher Group sales
Overall, the TRUMPF Group recorded a renewed increase in sales in the 2018/19 fiscal year, which ended on 30th June 2019, while orders received and profits declined. Sales rose by 6.1 percent to 3.78 billion euros (3.57 billion euros in the 2017/18 fiscal year). Orders received decreased to 3.68 billion euros (3.8 billion euros in the 2017/18 fiscal year). This equates to a reduction of 3.1 percent. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to 349.3 million euros which was 34.7 percent below the previous year’s figure (fiscal year 2017/18: 534.7 million euros. The EBIT margin was 9.2 percent (fiscal year 2017/18: 15 percent.
In addition to the high backlog of orders from the previous year, the expansion of the EUV business field was a key driver of the TRUMPF Group’s growth in sales revenue. TRUMPF supplies special lasers to ASML, a customer in the Netherlands. These lasers are integrated into systems that use extreme ultraviolet radiation to expose chip surfaces for the computer industry. Sales revenue from this business climbed from 0.26 billion euros in the previous year to 0.39 billion euros in the year under review, an increase of 48 percent. EUV consequently accounted for a significant share of Group revenues.
The Machine Tools and Laser Technology business divisions were, by contrast, unable to maintain the high growth rates achieved in the previous year. Revenues for the Machine Tools division rose by a slight 1.2 percent to 2.39 billion euros (previous year: 2.36 billion euros). The Laser Technology division posted revenues of 1.38 billion euros, marginally (-2.1 percent) below the previous year’s level of 1.41 billion euros. The decline was attributed to the slowing Asian market, in particular China and South Korea, as well as the automotive industry’s reluctance to invest.
Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, TRUMPF President and Chair of the Managing Board, concluded: “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 structural change of the automotive industry, many customers have become more cautious and are postponing investments.”