4. Fiscal 2009
Fiscal 2009 was largely shaped by the worldwide economic crisis. Customers responded to the slump in demand by running down inventories on a very large scale. They then postponed, reduced or canceled their orders for electronic components, provoking a substantial decline in sales at EPCOS.
Business development at EPCOS hit bottom in the second quarter of 2009. In the course of the year since then, demand has continually revived in all industries served and all regions, although from a very low level. However, part of this recovery is due to a return to more normal inventory levels.
4.1. Sales
| EUR million | Fiscal 2008 | ± | Fiscal 2009 |
| Sales | 1,478 | −22% | 1,147 |
In the fiscal year just ended, EPCOS’ sales declined 22 percent to about EUR 1.1 billion.
Sales to the automotive electronics industry experienced the sharpest drop, declining by more than 40 percent. Further double-digit declines were recorded for sales to distributors and to customers in the industrial electronics and information and communication technology industries. Sales of products for consumer electronics applications fell by a single-digit figure.
Regionally, the decline in sales was sharpest in Germany (down 40 percent) and the rest of Europe (down 30 percent). In particular, these figures reflect considerably weaker sales to automotive and industrial electronics customers. In the NAFTA region, sales were down nearly 10 percent. The 8 percent increase witnessed in Asia was largely driven by the EPCOS Feida joint venture’s contribution to sales.
4.2. Earnings
| EUR million | Fiscal 2008 | Fiscal 2009 |
| EBIT | +103.9 | −78.7 |
| Net income | +62.8 | −120.9 |
| Earnings per share (in EUR, undiluted) | +0.96 | −1.79 |
EBIT declined to minus EUR 79 million as sales dropped sharply in fiscal 2009. Net income was minus EUR 121 million. Earnings per share were minus EUR 1.79.
Net cash flow was minus EUR 69 million. Depreciation and amortization more than compensated for the net loss. A reduction in net working assets also had a positive impact on the cash flow from operating activities, which totaled plus EUR 31 million. Net cash of EUR 100 million used in investing activities was significantly lower than the corresponding figure a year earlier (EUR 135 million).
4.3. Employees
EPCOS was obliged to adjust its production capacity in line with weak demand in the period under review. Besides running down overtime accounts, using up remaining vacation days and introducing short-time work, reducing the headcount also became unavoidable.
The number of EPCOS employees declined by about 5 percent around the globe from 21,200 (at September 30, 2008) to 20,080 (at September 30, 2009). In Germany, the number of EPCOS employees also fell by 5 percent from 1,856 (at September 30, 2008) to 1,757 (at September 30, 2009).
The proportion of employees in countries with low labor costs remained high at the unchanged figure of 82 percent. EPCOS today employs 65 percent – almost two thirds – of its people in Asia, 19 percent in Europe excluding Germany, 9 percent in Germany and 7 percent in North and South America.
