Solid results cap off 70th anniversary year

The Group’s net sales rose in 2023 by 11.0 percent to 3.719 billion euros. “Our organic growth was so strong that both the negative currency effects and the loss of our Russia business couldn’t slow us down too much,” Supervisory Board president Matthias Altendorf said. All sectors and regions contributed to the year’s positive performance, as well as all core industries, with only the chemical sector in Europe performing weakly due to high energy prices.

Because material and personnel costs rose at a slower pace than sales, the Group’s operating profit grew by 20.3 percent to 573.0 million euros. Return on sales (ROS) climbed 0.6 points to 14.4 percent despite higher costs for interest and currency hedging. Net income improved by 14.5 percent to 408.7 million euros against the background of a slight increase in the tax rate, explained CFO Dr Luc Schultheiss.

In 2023 the Group invested 260.6 million euros in buildings and machinery, an increase of 8.4 percent. It spent 267.6 million euros, representing about 7.2 percent of its net sales, on research and development, an increase of 10.4 percent compared with 2022. Endress+Hauser’s 257 initial patent filings around the world testify to the sheer innovative power of its people. The company will launch 70 new products in 2024 to even better support customers.

At the end of 2023 the Group had 16,532 employees – 715 more than at the same time in the previous year. Most of the new jobs were in production. In the annual EcoVadis sustainability benchmark Endress+Hauser scored 71 out of 100 points, achieving Gold status – a placement that puts the Group among the top 5 percent of all rated companies. The company last year also joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

CEO Dr Peter Selders expressed cautious optimism for the current year. “Incoming orders and net sales for the first three months have been better than expected. However, this growth is not yet broadly based,” he said, explaining that, after years of double-digit rates, the company was expecting single-digit growth for the current year. Endress+Hauser intends to create 300 new jobs worldwide.