Sennheiser 2009 Annual Report Download - page 28

54 CO N SOLI D ATED MAN A GEME N T RE PORT 2010 55
CON SOLI D ATED MANA GEME N T RE P ORT 2010
However, this overall positive development went hand in hand with an increasing economic gap
between individual countries as a result of the European government debt crisis. The previous
economic and financial crisis in 2008/2009 exposed that particularly the countries at the South-
ern periphery of the Eurozone as well as Ireland had been on an unsustainable ride, living far
above their means in the first 10 years of the European Economic Community. In contrast, the
economies of most core countries of the Eurozone as well as Scandinavia and Switzerland, which
are little or not at all affected by the above-mentioned problems of these peripheral countries,
recovered in 2010.
The European indicators of the trust in the market shown by companies and consumers
continued rising until the end of 2010. This supported the expectation of a continuing economic
recovery in Europe. However, the European government debt crisis has not come to an end as
yet, and destabilization cannot be ruled out, especially if speculative attacks are carried out on
the liquidity of Portugal and particularly Spain. At present, the effects of the budget cuts imple-
mented by the European governments on consumer spending cannot be reliably estimated.
Germany
Since the second quarter of 2009, the German economy has recovered surprisingly quickly from
the serious slump caused by the global financial and economic crisis. This is thanks to a favor-
able constellation of cyclical, structural and fiscal factors. Exports, which always have been
Germany’s strongest economic driver, benefited from the early recovery of growth in Asia. In
connection with high levels of order backlog left over from before the crisis and the increasing
use of reduced working hours, unemployment figures only rose for a short time and to a limited
extent until around mid-2009. Businesses therefore managed to quickly cope with the following
influx of incoming orders by simply increasing working hours again, giving them a considerable
competitive advantage over other countries that had not reduced working hours. This excellent
competitive position was strengthened even further by the increasing use of temporary work-
ers, which is linked to the deregulation of the labor market implemented by the Hartz labor
market reforms. This provided companies with added flexibility and in turn enabled them to
react to increasing demand.
Private spending is expected to grow steeply on account of the improved situation in the labor
market and anticipated pay rises. The corresponding increase in the number of imports, however,
will reduce the growth figure contributed by net exports. Investments will grow even more strong-
ly than in 2010, as capacity utilization only reached its long-term average by the end of 2010.
The Situation of the Electrical and Electronics Industry in Germany
After the output of the German electrical and electronics industry had dropped by more than
20% in 2009, it recovered again by approximately 12% in 2010. Turnover, which had slumped by
20% in 2009, went up again by at least 15%; turnover from business with foreign customers
grew by almost 20% and from German customers by 11%. Capacity utilization in the electrical
and electronics industry rose to just over 86% in October 2010, only slightly down on the record
88% in 2008 but considerably up on the long-term average of 83%.
In November 2010, the sub-index of the Ifo Business Climate Index was already at its highest
level since the German reunification. Output is also expected to increase considerably in 2011.
Asset, Financial and Operating Position
Turnover and Operating Position of the Sennheiser Group
Although financial year 2010 started with less turnover growth than in 2009, Sennheiser gener-
ated €468.2 million in turnover, corresponding to 20.1% growth year on year. This was due to a
marked increase as from spring 2010 and an extremely positive year-end business.
All product segments were able to contribute to this growth. Consumers’ reluctance to buy,
which had made it difficult to sell, particularly microphones, in 2009, vanished in 2010. Turnover
also profited from the weakening euro.
Outlook
Outlook
Development
Development
Development
Outlook
500
400
300
200
100
0
TURNOVER (€ MILLIONS)
Change from previous year, in percent
2006
356.5
2007
395.3
+10.9 %
2008
385.8
–2.4 %
2009
389.9
+1.1 %
2010
468.2
+20.1 %