KraussMaffei Technologies (Munich / Germany; www.kraussmaffei.com) has reported record sales of EUR 1.05 bn for the 2007/2008 financial year (ending 30.9.08), representing year-on-year growth of 11%. Incoming orders also reached a new record at EUR 1.1 bn (up 3%). Presenting the provisional figures at the “Fakuma” exhibition on 15 October 2008, KraussMaffei’s CEO Dietmar Straub said this would guarantee good capacity utilisation over the coming months. EBITDA was also well above the figure for the previous year and earnings had also improved, he added. Injection moulding technology accounts for around 60% of sales, extrusion technology for about 30%, and reaction process machinery for the remaining 10%.

The company said that these positive developments were due largely to its realignment over the past 20 months and the grouping together of processing technologies under the title “Technology cubed”, which has enabled it to provide comprehensive advice to customers in selecting technologies.

Exports increased significantly over the year. Around 20% of sales now go to eastern Europe, and the Russian market is developing particularly well, the company said, with individual segment activities brought together in Moscow. This expansion eastwards has more than compensated for the marked decline in the US market. Capital investments have also been reduced in China, which has been affected by negative developments in its main, American sales market. Business in the Gulf region, however, is performing very well.

Straub said that the domestic market is also “gratifyingly robust” and that the cooling down of the economy only really became apparent in the last few weeks of the financial year. Germany accounts for around 25% of sales.

Looking to the future, Straub cautioned that in the new financial year KraussMaffei will not be able to escape the worsening economic situation in the industry. Between January and June 2008, the volume of incoming orders for machinery manufacturers belonging to the VDMA (Germany’s engineering federation) declined by 7%. Nevertheless, the CEO said he is optimistic that the company will be able to defend its “outstanding market position.”

In addition to “Technology cubed”, which will remain the biggest growth driver in the future and is expected to have a 10-15% influence on sales, KraussMaffei will focus on energy efficiency in the new financial year and has initiated a company-wide energy efficiency drive under the name "Blue Power". An optimisation team to help customers identify and exploit potential savings is currently being established.