Endress+Hauser holding up well

Endress+Hauser recorded a positive performance in 2024 amid a challenging environment. The measurement technology and automation solutions specialist increased its sales, created new jobs worldwide, invested more than at any time in its history and maintained profit stability. The family-owned company anticipates additional growth momentum from the expansion of its portfolio of gas analysis and flow measurement technologies.

The past year was shaped by global crises and political conflicts, making for patchy economic conditions. “2024 was a year of many challenges,” CEO Dr Peter Selders commented at the company’s annual media conference in Reinach, Switzerland. “While Endress+Hauser did not meet all its targets, the company held up well. We made important progress in many areas and have taken our company forward.”

The Group grew its net sales by 0.7 percent to 3.744 billion euros. Organic growth – without currency effects – was 1.3 percent, CFO Dr Luc Schultheiss told the audience. “The hoped-for economic upturn in the second half of the year failed to materialize,” he said. Sales in all three of the Group’s major markets – the USA, China and Germany – were subdued. This was offset by the company’s small and medium-sized sales centers.

In Europe, sales were down 0.9 percent, mainly as a result of declining numbers in Germany. On the other hand, various individual markets on the continent, including Italy, France and the UK, performed well. Asia as a whole was down 1.9 percent – a result of flagging sales in China. India and Japan, meanwhile, delivered good growth.

In the Americas, Endress+Hauser achieved a 4.2 percent increase in sales overall, driven mainly by growth in Canada, Argentina and Brazil. The USA was only a minor contributor to this positive overall performance despite having been a highly successful market for many years. Africa and the Middle East performed strongly, with growth of 13.3 percent.

In the past financial year, the company created 514 new jobs worldwide, growing its headcount to 17,046 at year-end. Most of the new jobs were in production. The same is true of the new vocational training positions, with 636 young people engaged at Endress+Hauser as apprentices, participants in dual study programs or external university students. The Group increased its training ratio to 3.7 percent, as compared with a target ratio of 5 percent.

Endress+Hauser invested 349.3 million euros – more than in any other year in its history – in new buildings, equipment and IT. The Group commissioned new production facilities at its campus in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), India, dedicated a guest house in Arlesheim, Switzerland, and opened regional logistics hubs in China and India. The company is currently implementing investment projects valued at over 550 million euros, the biggest of which is in Maulburg, Germany.

Last year Endress+Hauser launched no fewer than 81 products onto the market. “Innovation is a key driver of our success as technology leaders,” commented CEO Dr Peter Selders. The Group’s claim to technology leadership is underscored by its 285 first filings at patent offices all around the world last year. Its expenditure on research and development totaled 275.6 million euros, up 3.0 percent from the prior year and equating to 7.4 percent of sales.

Despite making large capital investments and creating additional jobs, the Group maintained profits at high levels, recording net income of 407.9 million euros, only 0.2 percent down from the prior year. This corresponds to a 14.1 percent return on sales. “Commercial success is the foundation that allows us to further drive our company’s sustainability,” Dr Selders emphasized.

In the annual EcoVadis sustainability benchmark, Endress+Hauser scored 78 out of 100 points, its highest rating ever. The Group has thus retained its Gold status, a placing that puts it among the top 5 percent of the 130,000 or so rated companies.

A strategic partnership with sensor manufacturer SICK in process automation expands the offering in gas analysis and gas flow measurement technology. Endress+Hauser strives to support its customers even better in increasing the efficiency of their plants, protecting the environment and reducing their carbon footprint. “Endress+Hauser is broadening its market base. We are covering new fields of application and tapping into future markets,” said Supervisory Board president Matthias Altendorf.

About 800 sales and service employees have transferred from SICK to Endress+Hauser under the partnership. Production and further development of gas analysis and measurement devices has been bundled under the umbrella of Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG, a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies that has around 730 employees across five locations in Germany. For Dr Selders, the partnership means synergies and growth for the Group: “This is a case of one plus one adding up to more than two.”

“The changes at the top of the Group and the generational handover in the shareholder family have gone smoothly,” said Matthias Altendorf, who became president of the Supervisory Board at the start of 2024 after 10 years as CEO. Sandra Genge and Steven Endress, both grandchildren of the company founder, are now the shareholder family’s representatives on the Supervisory Board. Dr Klaus Endress is the chairman of the Family Council, the most important link between the family and the company.

Reflecting on the current political, social and technological upheavals, the CEO said he expected economic conditions to remain uneven. For 2025, Endress+Hauser is aiming to achieve sales growth in the middle single-digit percentage range and keep its profits steady. Dr Selders believes the family-owned company is well positioned for the current challenges: “We can be confident about the future because much of what we need to prevail amid the current changes lies within our own control.”