Sensor intelligence growing strong in Sick

Posted 20 November 2017

sensoristica intelligente Sick anno fiscale 2016

Fiscal year 2016 of strong growth for the Sick sensor intelligence, which achieved record figures with orders totaling 1.387,9 million euro, +10,1%, and generated total global sales of 1.361,2 million, increased by 7,4%. The company achieved growth in all sales regions, and gains in sales were made primarily in the factory and logistics automation business fields, thanks to the high demand in sensor solutions to increase productivity in factory and logistic processes in Europe, America and Asia.

Earnings before interest and tax, ebit, also performed very well, surpassing with 147,9 million euro previous year’s figure by 14,6%. Ebit margin achieved on sales increased to 10,9%, and after deduction of tax liabilities, annual profit stands at 104 million, representing an increase of +14,5% compared to the previous year. R&D activities have also been intensified, with 143,4 million spent, equating to 10,5% of sales, and the number of employees increased by 8,5%, for a total of 8.044 people employed by the Sick Group in the world. Mainly, the areas of R&D and global sales experienced growth in their ranks, and expenditure on training and professional development increased by 11,2%, to 10,3 million euro.

The company is then expecting further record figures for the current fiscal year 2017, planning to focus primarily on expanding the existing product portfolio, on networking capabilities of its sensor technology in the context of Industry 4.0, and the issue of data sovereignty.