Sennheiser Completes Fiscal Year 2014 with Record Sales
With
this further increase in sales revenue in fiscal year 2014, the Sennheiser
Group is sustaining the continuous rise in sales seen in recent years.
"We
are very pleased to see a new record result," said Dr. Frank Heinricht,
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG.
"The positive sales development in all regions has once again confirmed the
strategic orientation of the company." The CEOs of Sennheiser GmbH &
Co. KG were also delighted by the figures: "This excellent result is the
consequence of our long-term strategy which we aim to continue in the
future," said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. "We would like to thank all our
employees for their commitment. It is them who have made this success
possible," Daniel Sennheiser added.
Worldwide
growth – strong APAC region
Sales at the Sennheiser
Group increased in all regions worldwide. More than half of the company's total
sales in fiscal year 2014 were generated in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle
East and Africa), which recorded stable growth of 2.1 percent. Business in the
Americas region (North, Central and South America) also saw a positive
development – in this region, sales increased by 4.0 percent. Having grown by
30.9 percent, the APAC region (Asia and Australia) made a significant
contribution towards increasing overall sales. In addition to the newly formed
sales subsidiary for Australia and New Zealand, the region benefited to a large
extent from the Digital Dividend in Japan, where public funds were made available to
convert wireless microphone systems to enable them to use new frequency ranges.
Overall, the company generated
around 85 percent of its total sales revenue outside the German market. The Sennheiser
Group currently has 21 subsidiaries, of which 18 are sales subsidiaries, in
more than 50 countries worldwide. Further expansion of its global business
activity will continue to be one of the audio specialist's strategic objectives
in the future.
Business divisions with balanced shares of
sales
The Consumer
and Professional Systems Divisions are almost equal in their proportion of
total sales. The Consumer Division had sales totalling 322.0 million euros,
while the Professional Systems Division was only slightly below, at 312.8 million
euros. Compared to the previous year, both divisions enjoyed a further
significant rise in sales, increasing by 7.1 percent and 7.9 percent respectively.
Sustainable investment in research and
development
Compared
to the previous year, investment in research and development in 2014 rose by
6.4 percent to 44.3 million euros. This equals 6.8 percent of the total sales
revenue of the Sennheiser Group. Increased investment in this sector was also reflected in the
number of employees. Compared to 323 employees worldwide in 2013, the number of
people employed in this sector rose by 4.6 percent to 338 in fiscal year 2014.
This means that around 13 percent of the total workforce is employed in research
and development. "For us, this is a clear sign of our commitment to
further strengthening innovative capacity at Sennheiser," said Dr. Andreas
Sennheiser. "As a family business, we have the advantage of being able to
pursue a long-term and sustainable strategy."
One
focus of the current research activities at Sennheiser is on the further
development of "3D Immersive Audio" technology, which provides a unique
spatial sound experience. As part of these activities, several classical
recordings and sound installations were carried out during the year, in addition to other projects.
Product
developments reflected the latest trends in the audio sector and were oriented
essentially towards the customers' needs. In particular, Sennheiser's new product worlds are
characterized by wireless technologies, multiconnectivity, system integration
and intelligent audio connections as well as high-definition audio and individual
audio solutions.
A strong position for future innovations
In
order to further promote the spirit of innovation and cooperation between teams throughout the company, Sennheiser is increasingly focusing on the further development of internal working
structures and processes. One flagship project is the recently inaugurated Innovation Campus at the company's
headquarters in Wedemark: with 7,000 square metres of usable space, it is the
largest and most modern innovation center in the audio industry. Since March 2015, it has
been providing interdisciplinary teams with space for joint research on
pioneering audio solutions. "Our new Innovation Campus enables us to set
new standards in the audio industry," explained Daniel Sennheiser.
"In this environment we develop audio solutions that are optimally
tailored to meet the individual wishes of our customers."
With
the new formation of Sennheiser Streaming Technologies GmbH (SST), the Sennheiser
Group is also expanding its core business with the addition of a Competence
Centre for the development of innovative streaming solutions.
Further investment in human resources and
family-friendliness
At
the end of 2014, the Sennheiser Group had around 2,700 employees – the average figure for the year was
2,600. Approximately 51 percent of the workforce is employed at the companies
located in Germany, while 41 percent is employed at the companies abroad.
Sennheiser
continued to invest in a family-friendly working environment for its employees
in 2014. In August, the audio specialist opened the company's own child
day-care center (called "Ohrwürmchen") at its headquarters in Wedemark. The day-care center
provides a total of 30 spots for children from the ages of six months to three
years, available to both employees and families outside the company. "We
consider it our responsibility to support our employees in improving the
compatibility of work and family life," said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. "This
not only contributes to a better working atmosphere but also improves our
performance."
Outlook for 2015
Overall,
the Sennheiser Group expects fiscal year 2015 to show a further increase in
sales revenue and an ongoing positive development in net earnings compared to
the previous year. "We began 2015 very successfully and have already been
able to present the first product highlights to our customers," said
Daniel Sennheiser. These include, among others, the new generation of the
successful MOMENTUM range and an extension of the URBANITE product family as
well as the evolution wireless D1 digital microphone series for the live music
sector, SpeechLine DW for speech applications and AVX for crystal-clear video
sound recordings. "It remains our mission to market pioneering products in
technological perfection which are optimally tailored to the needs of our
customers," explained Daniel Sennheiser. "Our existing product
portfolio and our targeted investment in the innovation of new technologies
ensure that Sennheiser is ideally equipped to achieve this objective."
About Sennheiser
Audio specialist Sennheiser is one of the
world's leading manufacturers of headphones, microphones and wireless transmission systems. Based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, Sennheiser operates
its own production facilities in Germany, Ireland and the
USA and is active in more than 50 countries. With 18 sales subsidiaries and
long-established trading partners, the company supplies innovative products and
cutting-edge audio solutions that are optimally tailored to its customers'
needs. Sennheiser is a family owned company that was founded in 1945 and which
today has 2,700 employees around the world that share a passion for audio technology. Since 2013, Sennheiser has been managed by Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, the
third generation of the family to run the company. In 2014, the Sennheiser Group had sales totalling €635 million. www.sennheiser.com
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