Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG is reporting an 18.7 percent increase in turnover for the 2006 financial year. “All our markets worldwide have been developing well, with all industrial divisions in the Sennheiser Group contributing to this double-digit growth,” says Volker Bartels, speaker for the executive team, president, manufacturing, and logistics. Good development in the consumer electronics segment, increasing internationalization of all teams and the opening up of new growth markets have all contributed to the record year. Employment figures rose with Sennheiser increasing its workforce by 11 percent to 1,852 worldwide.
With sales up by 18.7 percent, the Sennheiser Group has exceeded the 14.8 percent growth it enjoyed in 2005. “This kind of success has been made possible in particular by our strong performance in professional wireless technology and consumer electronics, the hard work done in marketing, development and production, and the dedication of our sales subsidiaries and partners in their respective markets,” explains Bartels.
Around 82 percent of Sennheiser’s sales were generated outside Germany, with the strongest performance again coming from the Americas, where sales increased by 15.2 percent. Western and Southern Europe and Africa grew by 13.2 percent, followed by Central Europe which recorded sales up 19.1 percent from 2005.
The biggest growth market was the Northern and Eastern European region, which saw a 36.4 percent increase due to the creation of Sennheiser Nordic A/S in 2005 and the subsequent reinforcement of its sales structure. The Asian and Australian market generated a rise of 14.3 percent.
Wireless microphones generated the most sales revenue in the Sennheiser Group, with a year-on-year growth of 15.4 percent. Strongest sales increase went to the headphone segment, which was up 39.8 percent thanks primarily to the demand for new mobile solutions. Sales soared for wired microphones, followed by conference technology, audiology, and aviation. The Sennheiser Communications joint venture grew by 39.5 percent.
The first six months of 2007 have also gone very well for Sennheiser. “We are hoping for continued growth through our new companies in Russia and India,” Bartels adds. “Sennheiser Audio in Moscow and Sennheiser Electronics India near New Delhi are going to tap into huge growth markets for Sennheiser, and along with Sennheiser Consumer Electronics GmbH we are aiming for further growth in this fiercely competitive segment.”