ifm sets new sales record

04/04/2022

Sales reach new record high of 1.16 billion euros
Number of employees increased by 10%
Planning for new company headquarters has begun

After a slight drop in sales due to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the ifm group of companies closed the past year with a new sales record. A 10% increase in staff as well as plans for new corporate headquarters are the company’s response to this development.

In the past financial year, the specialist for innovative automation technology succeeded in increasing prior-year sales by 21%, achieving a new sales record of 1.16 billion euros. “The fact that we have emerged from the crisis stronger than before is a testimony to the long-term success of our growth strategy, which is based on a diversified market and industry structure,” said Christoph von Rosenberg, CFO of the ifm group, on publication of the business figures. “Another major contributor to our success is the stable supply chain we have been able to maintain despite disrupted supply chains around the world. This allowed us to deliver on the customer’s desired date in 96.4% of all cases in 2021.” The operating result (EBIT) rose significantly year-on-year to 10.6% (previous year: 7.6%), reaching a record level.

The growth of the group is also reflected in staff numbers, which rose by around 10%, resulting in a total workforce of more than 8,100 employees worldwide at the turn of the year, of which nearly 5,000 employees are based in Germany. More than 2/3 of all products are manufactured at the five company locations in the Lake Constance region. The majority of the research and development work is located there. Accordingly, the majority of employees – around 3,500 – are based at these locations, and the demand for qualified personnel remains high. “With over 750 employees here in Essen, the company headquarters is bursting at the seams, so we are currently planning a new building just a few hundred metres away from the current location,” Christoph von Rosenberg comments on the development.

For the current financial year, the signs continue to point to growth. “Our order books have filled up nicely and the first quarter of 2022 was very strong. Nevertheless, we expect the war in Ukraine to cause an economic slowdown and delay a recovery of supply chains. The immediate cessation of our sales activities in Russia at the beginning of the war is well compensated for by growth in other countries. So we are currently very confident that we will continue grow significantly in 2022,” von Rosenberg said.