Sennheiser 2012 Annual Report Download - page 27

FINANCIAL REPORT 2012
REPORT OF THE
SUPERVISORY BOARD
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The Supervisory Board of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG has examined the
Consolidated Management Report and the Consolidated Financial Statements for
financial year 2012, which were submitted on time by the management. In the year
under review, Sennheiser Beteiligungs-GmbH was responsible for the management of
Sennheiser in its capacity as general partner.
The Presidents of the general partner were Volker Bartels (Corporate Services and
Speaker of the Executive Management Board), Dr. Heinrich Esser (Professional Systems),
Daniel Sennheiser (Strategy and Finance), Peter Claussen (Integrated Systems) and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser
(Supply Chain). In addition to the Presidents, further members of the Executive Management Board were
Peter Callan (Consumer Electronics) and Paul Whiting (Global Sales).
The members of the Supervisory Board this year were Dr. Frank Heinricht, Andreas Dornbracht and
Johann Soder; Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser again served as Chairman. During its regular meetings, the
Supervisory Board carefully monitored the situation and development of the Sennheiser Group. Between
meetings, the management kept the Supervisory Board up to date on all major projects and company
events, either orally or in writing. During its four full-day Supervisory Board meetings, the management
and Supervisory Board held in-depth discussions and made joint decisions on the following issues:
– The revised overall Group strategy, which focuses on the premium range in the markets and market segments
we operate in, was welcomed and approved for further specification, development and implementation.
– One consequence of this revised overall strategy was the clear necessity for selective distribution. In all
four Supervisory Board meetings, the further development of this adjusted sales structure was pursued,
discussed in-depth and subsequently approved for implementation in the following year.
– The foundations of the strategy for the Integrated Systems Division were developed, presented and
implemented step by step by those responsible within the division. The gradual development from a general
concept to a specific strategy caused this issue to be on the Supervisory Board meeting agenda on several
occasions. The results were welcomed by the Supervisory Board, as this precise and focused strategy lays the
foundations for the future financial success of our smallest and youngest business division.
– The discussion of meaningful, highly transparent figures was a recurring topic. This level of transparency
can be achieved by reducing the complexity of certain processes according to the divisional organization
of our company and will enable us to gradually allocate costs that arise according to the costs-by-cause
principle.
– In the middle of 2012 and after over a year of negotiations, an agreement concerning the takeover of
our Swiss representative Bleuel Electronic was concluded. As a result, the integration of this subsidiary,
renamed Sennheiser (Schweiz) AG, into the Sennheiser Group was completed. The Supervisory Board
welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations and would like to warmly welcome the employees of
Bleuel Electronic to Sennheiser. With the completion of this takeover, this important and dynamic sales
market has now been directly integrated into our sales activities.
– The Supervisory Board is kept regularly updated by the management on plans to expand the Innovation
Campus at the Wennebostel facility. An effective design concept was developed by the architect assigned
by the company on the basis of the newly revised spatial requirements assessment. The relocation of
parking spaces necessary for the realization of the Innovation Campus has been guaranteed through the
acquisition of adjacent plots of land. Working together with the municipality of Wedemark, the draft
development plans were put out to tender and released for public approval.
Once again, planned turnover and profit were exceeded in financial year 2012. The Supervisory Board would
like to thank the members of management and all employees for this success, which has made a significant
contribution to safeguarding jobs and the necessary investments in the future.
The Consolidated Management Report and the Consolidated Financial Statements compiled by the
management were audited by auditing firm Deloitte & Touche GmbH and confirmed unconditionally. The
Supervisory Board has ratified the auditors’ reports in full and recommends that the shareholders accept
and approve them.
Wedemark, April 19, 2013
Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser, Supervisory Board Chairman of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
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