Annual sales of EUR 9.98 billion – best result in company history
Operating result with a total of EUR 415 million above last year’s level
Slight decline in the number of employees to 65,169
Investments: EUR 465 million invested in extension of warehouse capacity and branch office network
Künzelsau. The business year 2012 has been very turbulent for the Würth Group. The company just missed its sales target of EUR 10 billion, yet achieved a sales record with a reported total of EUR 9.98 billion. “We get to feel the worldwide volatile economic situation and the clearly dramatic drop in prices in photovoltaics. An icy wind is blowing from the southern European countries into our faces as well. We could increase our sales in all regions except for Southern Europe. At the same time, we used the upward wind in Scandinavia and North America as we generated sales records in Canada and the USA. The global presence is our advantage, now as before. Challenges really spur us on: seizing opportunities wherever growth is looming and showing composure where risks get incalculable”, commented Robert Friedmann, Chairman of the Central Managing Board of the Würth Group, on the business year 2012 at the Press Conference on Financial Statements on 7 May in Schwäbisch Hall.Sales increase in almost all business areas
In its core business, the trade in assembly and fastening material for the craft and industry sector, the Würth Group grew by 3.7 percent to a total of EUR 5.5 billion in 2012. The industry sector, recording a plus of 12.3 percent, clearly contrasts with the rest. In March 2013, Würth parted with the remaining sales activities of its subsidiary Würth Solar, selling large parts of the solar business to the company BayWa.Germany remains most important single market
Over 44 percent of the overall sales of the Würth Group were generated in Germany: here, EUR 4.45 billion were obtained in 2012. This corresponds to a growth of 0.7 percent. The fall season, which normally stands for strong sales, did not result in the expected sales volume due to the economic situation. As to the number of employees, Germany takes the first place: 19,605 employees worked in the German Würth group in 2012. The parent company Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG remains the most successful company of the Group. With a total of EUR 1.2 billion, which equals a growth of 1.3 percent, the company generated the highest sales volume ever. The operating result, too, turned out a new record. The German production companies also (…) reported clear sales increases.
via Press release.