Hansgrohe chairman Hans Juergen Kalmbach says that making market predictions in the immediate wake of covid-19 lockdowns is ‘virtually impossible’.
Speaking as the company revealed record sales figures for its 2019 financial year – a period which does not cover the lockdown. Kalmbach (pictured) also pledged Hansgrohe’s commitment to the ISH exhibition in March next year – a week after its competitor Grohe pulled out.
The Hansgrohe and Axor brands generated total global sales of €1.088 billion (£1bn) in 2019, a one percent increase on the previous year’s total and the tenth consecutive year of growth.
Pre-tax profit (EBITDA) hit €213.5 million, which represents a slight decline of 1% compared to 2018. However, the results revealed the EBITDA margin remained unchanged at around 20%.
“For the tenth time in a row, Hansgrohe has achieved a new record in sales,” Kalmbach said. “With extensive investments in our future, we can look back on the second-best economic result in the history of our company.
“The commitment and creative power of all our employees worldwide was fundamental to this success; they deserve our special thanks. Our culture of active cooperation creates the basis for securing our corporate success and will continue to support us in the current situation.
“At Hansgrohe, we have together set the course to emerge stronger from this crisis. We are therefore deliberately publishing the positive figures for the 2019 financial year, so that the economic and financial solidity and reliability of Hansgrohe is substantiated.”
Speaking about the covid-19 situation, Kalmbach said: “In view of the pandemic, reliable and serious forecasts are virtually impossible at the moment. Our focus is on the health and safety of our employees, as well as on our customers and partners and their families around the world. Only thereafter comes our task, as a commercial enterprise, to maintain normal operations wherever possible.
“We are making every effort to overcome the existing challenges, together with our employees and market partners, and remain confident that we will succeed in this task in the mid-term. We can and will continue to invest in our future; for example, in the development of new products for the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt 2021.”
- Jay Phillips, the managing director of Hansgrohe UK, was a guest recently on The kbbreview Podcast. Listen now using the player below and to see all the available episodes go here