Strong Swiss Franc Impacts Performance

Despite a difficult business environment Endress+Hauser reports net sales increased 6.6% to 2.1 billion euros with preliminary financial figures showing the impact of the strong Swiss franc on earnings. “2015 was marked by currency rate fluctuations,” says Dr Luc Schultheiss, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Group, which specialises in instrumentation and process automation. Last year’s decision by the Swiss Central Bank to revoke the cap on the franc (Jan 2015) was a major blow to the budget right at the beginning of the year, impacting earnings especially hard. The CFO anticipates Endress+Hauser’s net income will decline around 25% compared to 2014. “We were unable to follow on the heels of good results in previous years.”

The weak euro also had a significant influence on the Group’s consolidated revenues. “In local currencies, the Group’s sales grew less than 1%,” highlights Mr Schultheiss. The economic transformation in China as well as the drop in the prices of raw materials – especially declining oil & gas prices – weighed heavily on the business. Despite dissatisfaction with business performance however, “the Endress+Hauser Group continued to show sound profitability and financial stability,” Mr Schultheiss added. The company increased both its equity capital ratio and the headcount, creating more than 500 jobs worldwide, ending the year with a total of 12,952 employees. The company will present its audited annual report in Basel on 3 May 2016.

The CFO anticipates the current year will be even more difficult, with a single-digit growth in net sales and stagnating profits. Assuming the business develops as planned, the company will probably add around 350 jobs.