Bosch back on clear course for growth

The Bosch Group has returned to its growth course, and has already regained the level of sales seen in 2007, before the crisis.

In fiscal 2010, according to preliminary figures, this global supplier of technology and services generated sales of 47.3 billion euros, 24 percent more than in the previous year (2009: 38.2 billion euros). “This is the highest level of annual sales in the 125 years of our company’s history,” said Franz Fehrenbach, the chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH.

The earnings situation of the Bosch Group also improved significantly. Indeed, for pre-tax result, the company returned to its target corridor of between 7 and 8 percent of sales in 2010, following a loss of 1.2 billion euros in the previous year.

The final figures will be announced at the annual press conference on April 14, 2011.

Asia Pacific sales pass the 10-billion-euro mark for the first time

The main drivers of this upswing at Bosch are the global economic recovery, the steep rise in global automotive production, and increased demand in mechanical engineering. In addition, significant progress has been made in restructuring loss-making areas, and the profit threshold has been regained in North America.

In Asia Pacific, Bosch achieved a nominal year-on-year sales increase of 42 percent, generating sales of more than 10 billion euros in this region for the first time. In South America, the company was able to grow 36 percent. In addition, North American sales increased by 27 percent and European sales by 16 percent, albeit from an extremely disappointing prior-year level. To quote Fehrenbach: “In Europe, it will likely be 2012 or 2013 before we regain the pre-crisis level of 2007.”

“We continue to benefit from the steady growth of the Asian and South American emerging markets, where we have been expanding our presence for many years now. This has enabled us to keep our core team on board during the recession, also in Europe and Germany – a fact that is currently all too often overlooked,” Fehrenbach said.

Double-digit growth for all business sectors

Last year, in line with the sectoral and regional recovery, all three business sectors grew significantly. Automotive Technology recorded the highest sales growth – growth of 29 percent to some 28 billion euros (previous year: 21.7 billion euros). Industrial Technology was also able to boost its sales considerably. From their prior-year level of 5.1 billion euros, they rose by more than 27 percent to over 6.5 billion euros. More than 500 million euros of this increase is due to the first-time consolidation of the majority shareholding in aleo solar AG, which Bosch acquired at the end of 2009. Consumer Goods and Building Technology, which was less affected by the recession of 2008 and 2009, discloses significant growth of roughly 10 percent to some 12.5 billion euros (prior year: 11.3 billion euros).