Turnover thus increased by 15.3%; incoming orders grew by 13.2% to EUR 1.27 billion. After a rather subdued start, both sales and incoming orders increased over the course of the year. As in the previous year, Sick grew in all regions of the world in 2015. The increase in sales in the Americas region and in the Asia-Pacific region, where the company grew by over 20% in each case, was particularly notable. In both regions, demand was particularly high from customers in the logistics and process automation sectors. However, currency effects also boosted sales growth: "In total, almost six percent of the overall growth is attributable to the depreciation of the euro, particularly against the US dollar and the Chinese renminbi," says CFO Markus Vatter.

The strong sales growth is reflected in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT): EBIT amounted to EUR 129.1 million and grew faster than sales, increasing by 25.1%. Currency effects, but also an improved use of materials in production, were once again noticeable here.

In the 2015 financial year, the global workforce was expanded to 7417 employees (+6.6% compared to 2014). Almost 60% of employees work in Germany, where the number of employees increased by 5.8%. Growth abroad was slightly higher at 7.8%.

As far as the forecast for the current year is concerned, the trend in the first quarter of 2016 is similar to that of the previous financial year: turnover and incoming orders are up on the previous year's level, but are still subdued. CEO Dr. Robert Bauer is cautiously optimistic about the development of turnover and earnings until the end of the year: "Despite the challenging economic environment, we are confident that we will also be able to achieve growth in turnover and earnings in 2016 - albeit with more modest growth rates than in 2015."