Beckhoff Automation Belgium’s Post

Transcript

First and foremost, we would like in good old fashion to look at the economic situation of the company. - For this, I have asked Kai to join me. - Hi, Felix. Kai, what can you tell us about the economic situation of our company, and maybe also the industry? Felix, a big question. See, after 3 years of significant growth where we nearly doubled our sales, 2024 really marks a shift. After 2023, where substantial inventory has been built up by our customers, it was foreseeable that there would be a slowdown. The current global politics and economic challenges are really adding to the complexity. We have regional downturns, and overall, this is really bringing some additional challenges to our customers and to us. No double-digit growth. We are actually going double digits down in numbers. We anticipate a reduction by 20%, if not 30%, in revenue. My grandmother loves to say, "The trees don't grow into the sky." I think it's quite natural that sometimes the economy is not going up, but it's making a move sideways or even slightly downwards. I think for us, this is always a beautiful situation because it is a big chance. How do you see the sales work currently these days? Fully agree. First of all, in German we say, "Things are never eaten as hot as hey are cooked," which means it's not as bad as we think. In fact, actually our global sales teams are very active. We are ramping up our activities in industry markets like in semicons, in electronic manufacturing, in energy, in process, and many more to add. We are winning new projects, we are winning new customers, we are participating in many trade fairs and events like here in the SPS show in Nuremberg. Yes, these are truly demanding times for our sales teams. But we make the best out of it, we make the most out of it. Actually, to the showcase here in SPS, I would put it in this phrase, "Real innovation creates and adds value while reducing costs." I think this is a big message we can see here from our SPS show in 2024. I would put it in one word, price novation. We are also good at inventing words, I think I like that. I think it is a new word, price novation. Yesterday, you have been here around seeing the TwinCAT PLC++, a big leap ahead in technology, while at the same time, reducing the footprint. I think you will see next MC3, same idea, more technology, lower footprint. Sorry. You are taking things that way. But I think it's a beautiful message. There is a colder face in the market. We are very busy discussing new technologies, because this is now the time to make an innovation. Absolutely. This is the most important thing, we have the right products to make these innovations. Exactly. We innovate, and at the same time, we help our customers to overall reduce their costs, their prices because we all know there is a big price pressure in the current situation. Thank you very much, Kai. I hope you will have a very, very busy day with little time to eat and to drink tea or coffee. Thank you. See you later.