[Image: Courtesy of TRUMPF Group]
Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, TRUMPF Group reported record growth in order intake and an increase in sales revenues during fiscal year ended June 2021 (FY20/21).
The company, which offers laser-enabled manufacturing solutions, recovered from low sales revenues during the first half of the FY through “systematic crisis management,” Nicola Leibinger-Kammueller, president of the Group Management Board of TRUMPF, said in a recent company press release. The group’s crisis approach included increasing productivity, changing the product mix and cutting non-personnel costs, according to the company.
While saying that TRUMPF thrived and evolved during a period when many companies struggled to exist, Leibinger-Kammueller remains cautious. “There will still be a lot of uncertainty over the coming months with regard to how chip shortages in global supply chains, inflation, and increasing energy costs … will affect our business.”
COVID-19 era: Growth, changes, caution
TRUMPF’s most impressive statistic for FY20/21 was a record-breaking order intake value of €3.9 billion (~US$4.52 billion)—a 19.7% increase from the previous year. The group also saw a significant 19.5% annual increase in operating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to €370 million, for an EBIT margin of 10.5%.
Recovering from a dip in sales during the first half of FY20/21, TRUMPF sales revenues finished the year with a 0.5% increase to 3.5 billion euros. The company’s research and development costs were slightly higher in FY20/21, resulting in a development cost ratio (R&D costs vs. sales revenues) of 10.9%—nearly the same as the previous year’s 10.8%.
Germany is still the largest single market for TRUMPF sales revenue, worth €579 million, followed by China and the United States. The Netherlands sales revenues were the largest European single market at €460 million, mostly due to its supplier relationship with the Dutch giant ASML for its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography operation.
TRUMPF Group scaled back investments during FY20/21 because of pandemic-related economic uncertainties. The company invested 25.2% less in plots and buildings, technical facilities and operating and office equipment. It also sold its majority stake in BeSpoon SAS to STMicroelectronics as part of an ultra-wideband-positioning technology strategic partnership. Meanwhile, TRUMPF acquired Lantek, a Spanish company that develops and implements metalworking software.
Staff and company culture
An increase in the number of TRUMPF’s EUV and electronics supplier relationships led to the creation of new jobs, pushing total employee numbers from 14,325 to 14,767 by the end of FY20/21.
TRUMPF’s executive board and works council announced new rules for employees working outside the office in the FY20/21 report. Employees at German company sites in Ditzingen, Gerlingen, and Hettingen, will no longer be limited to a 20% remote-work cap. Starting in 2022, managers can tailor remote work schedules to meet the specific needs of their teams. This change, according to the company, marks an evolution towards a results-based culture at TRUMPF Group.