In addition to other measures to increase efficiency, sales growth contributed to a 13.1% increase in EBIT to EUR 132.9 million, which remained high at 7.6% of sales. SICK was thus able to meet its targets forecast for the 2019 fiscal year, even though the company was confronted with a slowdown in the global economy, the deepening of global trade disputes and a difficult market situation in factory automation in general and the automotive industry in particular. Nevertheless, SICK stuck to its innovation strategy and once again invested a high proportion of its sales in research and development, at 11.5 percent.

"Many industries are facing profound structural change and the momentum of digitalization continues to increase. SICK is maintaining its high level of investment in research and development in order to further advance new technologies together with our traditional automation business. This is the only way we can exploit the opportunities offered by digital technologies together with our customers in order to react more agilely to the rapidly changing economic conditions," commented Dr. Robert Bauer, CEO of SICK AG, on the publication of the 2019 balance sheet figures. The majority of the start-up initiatives founded in 2018 have already reached market maturity and contributed to sales with solutions, for example in the field of AI-supported camera sensor technology or driverless transport systems in intralogistics.

Major market differences in demand for sensor technology and application solutions

Incoming orders and sales were very heterogeneous in the individual business units and regions, reflecting the dynamic economic developments. While demand in factory automation fell worldwide, SICK was able to gain market share in logistics and process automation. This broad industry positioning enabled stagnation in individual segments to be offset. In addition to its presence in established markets, sales activities in the world's growth regions also contributed to a further increase in sales.

In the home market of Germany, sales were slightly below the previous year with a change of -0.6%. German companies' reluctance to invest led to a drop in sales, particularly in the automotive sector. The financial year was much more stable in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales region. Despite a slowdown in the economy, SICK was able to achieve sales growth of 7.9 percent there. In particular, business in Italy, Austria, Sweden, Norway and the UK provided positive impetus. At 7.6 percent, sales growth in North, Central and South America (Americas) was at a similar level. In North America, SICK recorded a further increase in demand in intra- and transportation logistics as well as in the oil and gas industry. The strongest growth region worldwide was again Asia-Pacific, where development was dynamic. With growth of 11.3%, sales growth remained in double digits in 2019, with business volume increasing again in China and Japan in particular. Currency effects had a slightly positive impact on the development of Group sales in the 2019 financial year.

High profitability creates a stable basis for turbulent times

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased from 117.5 million euros to 132.9 million euros in the 2019 financial year. This development was supported by a calming of the procurement markets and the associated decline in extraordinary expenses to ensure delivery capability. Together with the pleasing sales growth, SICK was once again able to record high profitability in 2019.
Sustained growth in a volatile market environment requires continued high expenses and investments. The SICK Group's high profitability will also enable the necessary investments in securing its market position and innovation leadership in the future. It also offers the company stability in the current coronavirus pandemic, the economic impact of which cannot yet be estimated for the 2020 fiscal year.

Sales-driving innovations from start-ups and existing business

As in previous years, SICK invested heavily in research and development in the 2019 fiscal year. In total, the company spent EUR 202.0 million (2018: EUR 192.5 million) - 11.5 percent of sales - on R&D activities. In its existing business, SICK expanded its product portfolio in order to be even better equipped for fluctuations in individual markets through greater product diversification. Product development focused on the connectivity of sensor technology in the context of Industry 4.0 and data sovereignty. With the integration of application knowledge in the software of individual products and the possibilities of more powerful processors and memory technologies, SICK sensor technology is increasingly developing towards sensor intelligence.

In addition, the start-up initiatives were also highly dynamic and were able to win customer projects and generate sales. For example, deep learning algorithms are being used to continuously train an application with camera sensors on a neural network for use in parcel recognition in logistics.

More than 10,000 SICK employees worldwide for the first time

In line with the growth in sales, the number of employees also increased slightly by 2.6% in the 2019 fiscal year. 10,204 employees work at SICK locations worldwide, including 1,310 in research and development. Human resources work was largely characterized by the development of expertise for the challenges of digital transformation, agility and increasing complexity. SICK aims to open up the opportunities of digital transformation in a highly innovative environment for its employees by continuously investing heavily in training and development.

Even before the spread of the coronavirus began, the overall economic conditions were challenging. In the first months of the new fiscal year 2020, SICK continued to record pleasing sales and incoming orders. The company is monitoring the spread of the coronavirus and the shutdowns in many countries with great concern and implemented measures at an early stage to protect employees and the company and to remain able to deliver.

The global efforts to slow down the spread of the virus represent an unprecedented challenge for the global community. The economic impact cannot yet be estimated. However, it is already becoming apparent that the order situation and business development in 2020 will be significantly impacted by the medical and economic crisis. But even in the current crisis situation, the demand for automation solutions, e.g. in logistics, is high. With its innovative product and service portfolio, SICK can help companies overcome the restrictions that continue to apply to business processes after the crisis. With its solid financial position, the SICK Group is in a promising position to overcome this challenging phase.

An overview of the key figures in this press release