Geopolitical uncertainty Trumpf with declining sales and order intake

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Germany emerges as Trumpf’s top market for the first time in years, as the company battles a global economic slowdown. Faced with a 3.6 percent dip in sales and intensifying competition, the company is focusing on strategic measures to improve earnings and strengthen its position.

For the first time in years, Germany has emerged as the strongest single market for high-tech company Trumpf, despite facing challenges in a turbulent global economy. The company reported a 3.6 percent drop in sales, totaling 5.2 billion euros for the 2023/24 fiscal year, down from 5.4 billion the previous year. Order intake saw a more pronounced decline of 10.4 percent, falling to 4.6 billion euros. Operating earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) fell by 114 million euros to 501 million euros as a result of the decline in sales compared to the previous year (615 million euros). The Ebit margin fell to 9.7 percent (previous year: 11.5 percent).

When presenting the company balance sheet in Ditzingen, Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of Trumpf, said: “The slowing global economy and geopolitical uncertainties led to a significant reluctance to make new investments among customers on all continents in the past fiscal year. We felt the effects of tougher competition more than ever before, for instance from Chinese competitors. Looking ahead, we assume that the coming months of the current fiscal year will continue to be characterized by persistently weak demand. Trumpf is countering this economic crisis with clear measures to improve earnings, among other things.”

Trumpf’s strongest single market in terms of sales was Germany with 824 million euros (previous year: 779 million euros), which corresponds to an increase of 5.8 percent. In the USA, however, sales fell significantly by 11.5 percent to 796 million euros (previous year: 899 million euros). In China, the largest Asian market, Trumpf increased sales slightly by 2.2 percent to 615 million euros (previous year: 602 million euros).

Looking at the business divisions, the Machine Tools division achieved the highest sales at 2.8 billion euros (previous year: 3 billion euros). The Laser Technology division recorded declining sales of 1.4 billion euros in the reporting year (previous year: 1.5 billion euros, adjusted for the Electronics business field).

Sales in the Electronics business field, which has no longer been part of Laser Technology since the 2023/24 fiscal year and is reported separately, amounted to 572 million euros. This corresponds to a slight increase of 4.8 percent compared to the previous year (546 million euros). The EUV business field, which is also reported separately, achieved sales of 943 million euros. This corresponds to a slight decrease of 2.9 percent compared to the previous year (971 million euros).

Development of employee numbers

The number of Trumpf employees increased by around 650 in the reporting period. New jobs were created in the EUV and Electronics business fields in particular. As of reporting date June 30, 2024, the company employed 19,018 people worldwide (previous year: 18,352). In Germany, the number of employees rose by 4.2 percent to 9,505 (previous year: 9,124). Of these, 6,283 worked at the headquarters in Ditzingen, Gerlingen, Hettingen and Höfingen. In the year under review, 560 young people completed a training course or a co-op work-study program, resulting in a training ratio of 2.9 percent, which was slightly lower than the previous year (3.5 percent).

The number of employees in research and development increased by 8.6 percent to 3,098 (previous year: 2,853). At 530 million euros, research and development expenses were significantly higher than in the previous year (476 million euros). The ratio of R&D expenditure to sales thus increased to 10.3 percent (previous year: 8.9 percent) and remained at a historically high level.

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