German home appliance giant BSH has reported that 2011 was another record year.

At its recent annual press conference in Munich, the group announced it had increased its revenue by 6.4 per cent to a total of €9.65 billion (£7.73bn).

In the UK, turnover hit £509m, up 7% on the previous year a result UK CEO Michael Steinle said was the country's second best year ever with positive growth in all four brands of Neff, Bosch, Siemens, and Gaggenau. Steinle also confirmed that Gaggenau would become a kitchen specialist-only brand.

At hte global level, gross profit went down by around 1%, as a result of significant increases in the price of raw materials, and reached a total of €3.57bn.

“Last year, we reported a record revenue. In 2011, we were able to generate even bigger revenue. That is remarkable – not least because the past year was anything but easy for the home appliance industry,” said Dr Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet (pictured), BSH chief executive.

“Although there were initial signs of continued recovery from the global financial crisis, the EU debt crisis had gained the upper hand by the second half of the year. There were high levels of pricing pressure, due to more intense competition, as well as significantly more expensive raw materials.

"As a result, the home-appliance industry achieved only moderate growth in the past year. In many of the countries in which we operate, we were able to achieve above-average growth and strengthen our competitive edge. In the year under review, we therefore continued to invest in our production sites and create new jobs.”

BSH highlighted its strong sales of ‘super-efficient’ home appliances and also small domestic appliances, including its Tassimo coffee makers, as some of the main reasons for its overall growth.

In 2011, BSH increased its revenues in Germany by 8.2 per cent to €2.06bn. This meant that in Germany its consolidated revenue passed the two billion euro mark for the first time ever.

Revenues in western Europe  (excluding Germany) fell slightly by 0.7 per cent to €3.51bn. Business in the UK, France, Belgium and Sweden showed positive developments, with the UK experiencing significant growth. However, due to the current economic crisis, BSH experienced difficulties in the Spanish, Greek and Portuguese markets.

Last year, BSH invested €453 million in the development and production of energy-efficient home appliances and its sites. This was €50m more than in the year before.