Preliminary figures 2010

• Orders received substantially higher: +27 percent to EUR 1.14 billion
  Robotics up 50 percent to an all-time high of EUR 486 million

• Sales revenues climbed steadily: +20 percent to EUR 1.08 billion
  Systems generates EUR 219 million in Q4/10 

• EBIT reaches EUR 24.8 million and EBIT margin climbs to 2.3 percent 
  Cost reduction program generates recurring savings of EUR 69 million
  
  

KUKA Group 2010 business performance

In financial 2010, KUKA Group's preliminary orders received came it at EUR 1,142.3 million, 26.5 percent higher than the EUR 903.3 million posted in 2009. The company is therefore almost back to the level of over EUR 1.2 billion it  received in 2008. The Robotics division in particular recovered quickly from the prior year's market doldrums, driven by strong demand from the automotive industry. Orders were up 49.9 percent to EUR 486.2 million, a new all-time high. Last year's final number was EUR 324.3 million. The affect of the slump on the automotive segment business especially was earlier and stronger in 2009, therefore orders received from this sector are now almost twice what they were the year prior. General industry orders were up sharply, returning to the level they were at in 2008. The Systems division benefited especially from the strong growth in investments of the automotive industry starting in the second half of the year. Orders received rose 16.5 percent to EUR 716.8 million from EUR 615.4 million in 2009.

Overall, KUKA Group's consolidated sales revenues for 2010 climbed 19.6 percent to EUR 1,078.6 million from EUR 902.1 million in 2009. The System division's share was EUR 695.3 million, up 14.8 percent from the year prior. The Robotics division's sales revenues soared 31.8 percent to EUR 435.7 million from EUR 330.5 million in 2009. The segment started the new financial year with a substantially higher order backlog.

KUKA Group's order backlog rose to EUR 630.5 million as of December 31, 2010, 16 percent higher than the EUR 543.5 million posted on December 31, 2009. KUKA Group's notional level of activity thus continues to be more than six months.

Over the course of the financial year, KUKA Group's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were higher each quarter and closed at EUR 24.8 million in total, including special expenses of EUR 6.3 million. In 2009, EBIT was EUR -52.6 million, of which EUR 38.6 million was special expenses. EBIT margin thus also improved: to 2.3 percent for 2010, up from -5.9 percent in 2009. The Robotics division generated an overall EBIT of EUR 20.8 million in 2010, and thus an EBIT margin of 4.8 percent. In 2009, the result was EUR -11.5 million. The Systems division's results also improved and in 2010, it generated an EBIT of EUR 20.0 million, compared to EUR -29.1 million in 2009. The division's EBIT margin was thus 2.9 percent. Both divisions are well on track to achieve their target EBIT margins.

KUKA Group's employee count rose from 5,744 at the end of 2009 to 5,990 at the close of 2010. This increase of 246 persons or 4.3 percent is proportionally less than the expansion in orders received of 26.5 percent. There were two offsetting developments during the year: On the one hand, the capacity in Eastern Europe and the BRIC nations was expanded to align with the global focus of our customers. For example, 351 employees were added at the company's Hungarian subsidiary, which builds control cabinets for robots exclusively. In the BRIC countries, 104 employees were hired in line with the automotive companies' capacity expansions. On the other hand, the number of employees at KUKA Group's headquarters in Augsburg was cut by 259 and closed at 2,375 at the end of 2010.

The cost cutting program was executed according to plan and generated recurring cost savings of EUR 68.6 million cumulated in 2009 and 2010. The savings were achieved primarily by improving business processes and organizational structures throughout the entire group. 

The preliminary numbers for the fourth quarter of 2010 are as follows:

In line with the year's overall growth, KUKA Group's orders received in Q4/10 beat the prior years' results by a substantial margin, coming in at EUR 280.1 million. The result for Q4/09 was EUR 229.5 million and for Q4/08, EUR 251.3 million. The Systems division generated orders received of EUR 192.2 million, the highest number in a fourth quarter in the last four years. The orders received in the Robotics division totaling EUR 102.1 million were less than the previous quarters’ record highs. The general industry and service segments posted the highest level of orders received in a fourth quarter in the last five years. Customers in the automotive segment called less orders of the frame contracts in Q4/10; however, orders received were up sharply again in January 2011. Overall the positive trend for high capital spending of the customers continues.

KUKA Group's fourth-quarter 2010 consolidated sales revenues returned to the level they were at prior to 2009 and went from EUR 246.7 million in 2009 to EUR 324.6 million. Both divisions generated substantially higher sales revenues than last year in the final quarter of the year. Driven by very successful project progress, the Systems division brought in EUR 219.3 million compared to EUR 171.1 million in Q4/09 and the Robotics division contributed EUR 118.1 million versus EUR 86.5 million in Q4/09.

KUKA Group's consolidated EBIT for the fourth quarter of 2010 reached EUR 11.4 million, compared to EUR -24.6 million in Q4/09, of which special expenditures accounted for EUR 21.2 million. The Group's EBIT margin in the final quarter was thus 3.5 percent, significantly above the average in 2010 (2.3 percent).

The Robotics division ended Q4/10 with an EBIT of EUR 7.4 million versus EUR -5.0 million in Q4/09, making the division's EBIT margin for this quarter 6.3 percent. The Systems division closed Q4/10 with an EBIT of EUR 7.5 million, compared to EUR -14.0 million at the end of Q4/09. EBIT margin for the quarter was thus 3.4 percent.

"KUKA is looking ahead to 2011 with confidence," explained CEO Dr. Till Reuter. "We have made our operations more flexible and have become stronger."

The complete financial statements for fiscal 2010 and outlook for 2011 will be presented at the financial results press conference on March 16, 2011.

KUKA Group preliminary key figures from 2010

*Employees with apprentices. without temporay workers

KUKA Robotics preliminary figures for 2010

Preliminary orders received by division

KUKA Systems preliminary key figures for 2010