Kuka
Record order intake, sales and earnings
The Kuka Group closed the 2015 financial year with record figures. Due to the strong global demand for robots and automation solutions, both order intake and sales as well as earnings increased by a significant double-digit percentage.
"The guidance for 2015 has been met," said Kuka CEO Dr. Till Reuter on the occasion of the announcement of the 2015 figures: At around 3.0 billion euros, sales were above the target figure of around 2.9 billion euros and 41.5% above the previous year (around 2.1 billion euros). The Robotics (909.6 million euros; +9.0%) and Systems (1,471.7 million euros; +14.5%) divisions contributed to this with record figures. And even without the Swiss logistics company Swisslog, which was acquired by Kuka at the end of 2014 and consolidated for the first time in 2015, a new all-time high was recorded on a comparable basis. Specifically, Swisslog contributed 620.8 million euros to sales growth.
Kuka's incoming orders amounted to 2,838.9 million euros, also significantly exceeding the previous year's figure by 27.4% (2014: 2,229.0 million euros). Robotics accounted for 891.2 million euros (+10.6%), Systems for 1,428.1 million euros (-1.9%) and Swisslog for 551.8 million euros. One of the factors contributing to the increase in incoming orders was the consistent focus of sales on the automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer goods, metal industry, energy, healthcare and e-commerce focus markets, which began in the previous year. Significant individual sales were also recorded from the automotive industry. Around two thirds of the Swisslog division's sales were generated in the area of warehouse logistics and one third in hospital logistics. In terms of regions, North America and China in particular contributed to the growth in incoming orders in 2015.
Outlook for 2016
Based on current conditions and exchange rates, Kuka CEO Reuter expects sales of more than EUR 3.0 billion for 2016 as a whole. Both customer segments - General Industry and Automotive - and, from a regional perspective, China and North America should make a positive contribution to sales development. In addition, growth investments in the Group-wide further development of solutions for Industry 4.0, in General Industry and in China should have an impact on the EBIT margin in 2016.
You might also be interested in
Midea wants to take over Kuka
Midea, one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems based in China, today announced a public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of the Augsburg-based Kuka Group.
read more...Kuka wants to enter the 3C market
At the Hannover Messe, Kuka presented the KR 3, the most compact model in its Agilus family of small robots to date. With this robot, the Augsburg-based company wants to enter a new market environment: electronics production.
read more...International Federation of Robotics (IFR)
New sales record for industrial robots
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has announced the sales figures for 2015. According to the figures, the number of industrial robots sold worldwide last year reached the mark of around 240,000 units for the first time.
read more...China is eyeing German robot technology
The Chinese Huawei Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuka at Cebit. The aim: to develop 'smart manufacturing solutions' for industrial markets in Europe and China.
read more...Review of the 'Expert Days on Service Robotics'
"Human meets Robotics" - this was the motto of Schunk's 9th 'Expert Days on Service Robotics'. It became clear that international standards are needed for robot-supported assistance systems to become a matter of course in everyday industrial life.
read more...Humanoid robot 'Atlas' keeps a calm head
In a demo video, scientists from Google subsidiary Boston Dynamics show the results of their current work on the humanoid robot 'Atlas'. Even deliberate disruptive maneuvers do not throw the biped off its stride.
read more...Universal Robots - Sales almost doubled
Universal Robots, the Danish manufacturer of collaborative robots, achieved a turnover of 56 million euros last year - a growth of 91% compared to the previous year. Profits increased even more.
read more...Autonomous assistants are moving into factories
Human-robot collaboration (HRC) alone is not enough to make production more flexible. There is also a need for mobile platforms on which robots can move independently through factory halls and transport goods or workpieces.
read more...Bereit für die WM 2016!
In einem gemeinsamen Projekt haben die Universität Bonn und das Kölner Unternehmen Igus über die letzten zwei Jahre einen humanoiden Roboter stetig weiterentwickelt – jetzt wartet dieser auf seine Einwechslung beim Robocup 2016!
read more...