Press

22.06.2010 - Wedemark

Sennheiser Balance Sheet 2009: Growth in Sales Despite World Economic Crisis

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG presented its balance sheet for fiscal year 2009 today. After generating €385.8 million in 2008, the audio specialist recorded sales of €389.9 million last year, a rise of 1.1%. Earnings were €3.8 million. “In view of the worldwide recession and the particularly difficult economic situation for Sennheiser in 2009 in the project business, that is an acceptable result,” explained Volker Bartels, Speaker for the Executive Team. On average throughout the year, Sennheiser’s worldwide workforce was more than 2,132 employees (+0.7%).

In fiscal year 2009, sales of headphones experienced particularly strong growth, and Sennheiser was able to record an increase of 18.8% in this sector. By contrast, sales of wireless microphones fell by 6.1%; the reasons were a general reluctance to invest due to the economic crisis and insecurity among users concerning future operating frequencies for wireless microphones. “The collapse in sales in the professional sector and the shift to less profitable consumer business resulted in a fall in consolidated earnings from €14.8 million in 2008 to €3.8 million in 2009,” explained Volker Bartels. “In addition, a severe increase in transport costs for goods from our Asian partner companies put considerable pressure on our profits. In the course of the economic crisis, there was a significant reduction in available capacity for sea freight, with the result that we had to revert to expensive air freight in many cases in order to supply our consumer customers.”

In fiscal year 2009, audio specialist Sennheiser generated around one third of its total sales of
€389.9 million with headphones


Global development
Sales in the Americas grew by 8.3% compared to the previous year, from €91.7 million to €99.3 million. Once again, this growth was primarily achieved by sales in the headphones sector, which were positively influenced by a large-scale consumer campaign. A major order in the Installed Sound sector was the installation of a guidePORT visitor guidance system at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. With a total of more than 1,700 receivers, this is the largest guidePORT system on the two American continents.


Whereas the Americas and Asia and Australia grew by 8.3% and 8.9% respectively, the
EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) fell by 2.8%.


In the biggest region, EMEA, there was a 2.8% drop in sales in 2009; sales decreased from €253.7 million in 2008 to €246.5 million. All sub-regions were affected by this decline: Eastern Europe fell by 8.2%, Northern Europe by 3.9%, Central Europe by 2.0% and Western & Southern Europe and Africa by 1.7%. In fiscal year 2009, the Russian joint venture Sennheiser Audio OOO was transformed into a 100 percent Sennheiser subsidiary.

Sales in the Asia and Australia region increased from €40.4 million to €44.0 million (+8.9%), particularly helped by the relatively young subsidiaries in India, China and Japan. “This proves that the strategic decision to have our own sales subsidiaries in this region was the right one,” Bartels said.


Success on the European headphones market
Sennheiser was able to further extend its good position in the headphones market. For the Europe-12 countries – Germany, United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Turkey, Portugal and Russia – market researchers GfK Retail and Technology confirmed that the audio specialist had a market share by value of 23.3% in 2009, equivalent to an increase of 1.5 percentage points. “We are very pleased with our success in Europe,” explained Susanne Seidel, President of Global Marketing. “In seven of the Europe-12 countries, Sennheiser is even the market leader on a value basis.” Overall, the sales value in the headphones market in the Europe-12 countries rose by 7% in 2009. Even more impressive is the increase in growth achieved by Sennheiser: the audio specialist recorded a rise of 14.3%.


China and India key growth generators in the headphones market
China and India are also among the guarantees for growth in the headphones market. In these countries, Sennheiser was able to record a significant rise in its value-based market share in 2009. In China, the audio specialist achieved a share of 25.8% (after 20.6% in 2008, GfK Retail and Technology), in India 21% (after 12% in 2008, according to Indian import duty data). “In 2009, a successful brand policy and an interesting product portfolio with many new headphone models contributed to our success, from the HD 800 audiophile headphones and our new wireless and travel headphones right through to the new 400 Series,” explained Susanne Seidel.


Outlook for 2010
“We are expecting moderate growth for the year 2010”, said Volker Bartels. “The effects of the economic crisis have not yet been fully overcome; for that reason, we are still conducting our business in a very cost-conscious manner. A slight recovery in the markets is noticeable, which is why we were able to end the short-time working announced in 2009. Our production facilities are working to capacity.” Volker Bartels is also expecting growth in the headphones segme nt, which will be given an additional boost this year by cooperation with adidas and the resulting sports headphones series. The situation also looks more positive for the wireless technology segment. “The uncertainty among many users due to the re-allocation of radio frequencies has been relieved in some countries in Europe. In Germany, alternative frequencies in the UHF band were announced some weeks ago and we have already noticed a significant increase in orders.”

The Sennheiser Executive Team (from l. to r.): Paul Whiting (President of Global Sales), Stefan Junker (President of Global Controlling and Finance), Susanne Seidel (President of Global Marketing), Dr. Heinrich Esser (President of Global Research and Development), Volker Bartels (President of Global Production and Logistics, Speaker for the Executive Team)
 
  
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of around €390 million in 2009. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, and has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones and monitor loudspeakers), and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).
  

You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at www.sennheiser.com, or by contacting:
 
  
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You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at www.sennheiser.com, or by contacting:

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Pressereferat • Edelgard Marquardt
Am Labor 1 • 30900 Wedemark
Fon: +49 (5130) 600-329
Fax: +49 (5130) 600-295
e-Mail: edelgard.marquardt@sennheiser.com