According to the press release, Lenze succeeded in increasing consolidated revenue by 6.3 percent to a new record of 787.6 million euros. All regions of the Lenze Group (Europe, America, Asia) contributed to this growth. The contributions from business with customers from Lenze's five focus industries - Automotive, Consumer Goods, Converting & Printing, Intralogistics and Textile - were, as planned, important growth drivers.

In the past financial year, the Lenze Group invested heavily in expanding its expertise, both financially and in terms of personnel. Net investments were increased to a new record level of 37.5 million euros in the 2018/2019 financial year, exceeding the previous year's figure by 72 percent (previous year: 21.8 million euros). In order to meet the growth trajectory and the changing demands on skills in the age of digitalization, numerous new employees were hired in key areas, increasing the number of employees to 3,969 at the end of the financial year (previous year: 3,739).

Growth and expansion of expertise reflected in earnings performance
The clear growth course and the financial and personnel expansion of expertise are also reflected in the earnings performance in the 2018/2019 financial year. Overall, this fell short of expectations. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and non-recurring items amounted to 52.4 million euros. After one-off effects that reduced earnings, EBIT amounted to 35.5 million euros (previous year: 65.7 million euros). The EBIT margin before non-recurring items amounted to 6.7%. Consolidated earnings before deduction of minority interests amounted to 21 million euros in the reporting year after 47.2 million euros in the previous year.

"Equipped for the future"
The Management Board believes that Lenze is still well equipped for successful medium-term development. Accordingly, CEO Christian Wendler explained at this year's SPS trade fair in Nuremberg: "Last year, we invested significantly in the development and expansion of our expertise. This led to a reduction in our positive result in 2018/2019. At the same time, we have laid important foundations for expanding our leading role in the field of automation and will reap the rewards of our optimized positioning in the future."

With regard to the short-term opportunities and risks, he adds: "It will be really exciting for our industry in the near future. This is because the opportunities arising from the digital transformation are offset by significant risks from a further global economic slowdown, trade conflicts and economic crises."

The industry association VDMA is correspondingly cautious about the future of mechanical engineering. A decline of 1.6% is expected for production in 2019 and even a drop of 2.0% for 2020. "Lenze is well equipped to hold its own even in rough seas. We will be able to further increase our market share in the systems business and in Asia and therefore continue to see medium-term growth potential for Lenze," says Christian Wendler, summarizing Lenze's outlook. as