The Trumpf Group (www.trumpf.com) was able to significantly increase its sales, orders received, and profits in the 2017/18 fiscal year to 30 June 2018.

Sales rose by 14.6% to 3.57 billion euros (compared to 3.11 billion euros in fiscal year 2016/17) — the highest figure in the history of the company, which was founded in 1923.

Orders received increased by 12.5% to 3.8 billion euros (from 3.4 billion euros in 2016/17). Operating income before taxes rose by 52.3% to 514 million euros (from 337 million euros).

The net operating margin was 14.4%, compared to 10.8% a year earlier.

The company’s largest business division, machine tools, increased its sales by 11.3%, while its laser technology division achieved a sales growth of 21.5%.

EUV lithography (for the ‘exposure’ of microchips) did particularly well, increasing its sales by 57.3% to 250 million euros.

Once again, Germany was the largest single market for Trumpf, with sales up by 15.6% to 719 million euros, followed by China (up by 13.0% to 457 million euros), and the USA (up by 5.4% to 444 million euros).

Year-on-year sales in Italy grew by 31.8% to 173 million euros, making that country Trump’s fourth-strongest single-country market for the first time.

In the current fiscal year — and despite the general slowdown of the global economy — Trumpf expects to generate business with a similar level of profitability.

The group-wide workforce grew by 12.9% to 13,420 employees (at 30 June 2018) — and has since exceeded the 13,500 mark.

In Germany, there were 6,778 employees, around 3,900 of whom were employed at the company’s headquarters in Ditzingen.

Expenditure on research and development increased by 5.9% to 337 million euros — equivalent to 9.5% of its sales figure.