The Würth Group reported sales grew 4.8% to a record EUR 14.27 billion in 2019.

“Sales developed in an unusually heterogeneous way in 2019,” the group stated. 

Sales in Germany increased 2.1% “due to the struggling automotive industry.” 

Meanwhile, sales outside of Germany gained 6.8%, with “satisfactory growth rates” in Southern Europe (15.3%), South America (8%) and Eastern Europe (6.6%).

E-business sales experienced above-average growth, increasing to EUR 2.6 billion.

However, the operating result declined 13.8% to EUR 750 million due to gross profit margins being under pressure. 

“It was not possible to entirely pass on increased purchasing prices to customers in the market.”

During 2019, the number of employees rose by 1,606 to 78,686. In Germany, the number of employees increased 2.4% to 24,344. The Group currently has 33,979 sales force employees.

“The general economic forecasts remain cautious, which is why the Würth Group expects mid-single-digit sales growth and an operating result increasing proportionally to this,” stated chairman Robert Friedmann. “Certainly, any political tensions and tariff disputes are disruptive factors, as they have strong repercussions on foreign trade and thus exports.” Web: wurth.com