07.27.09
$5.3 Billion
KEY EXECUTIVES:
Ludwig Georg Braun, Chairman of Management Board
Michael Ungethüm, Vice Chairman of Management Board
Heinz-Walter Grobe, Head of Finance
Wolfgang Feller, Head of Avitum Division
Caroll H. Neubauer, Head of North America Region
Meinrad Lugan, Head of Hospital Care and OPM Divisions
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 38,132
GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS: Melsungen, Germany
The executive team at B. Braun has always taken a conservative, long-term approach to business management. That approach has served the company well throughout its 169 years, particularly during times of economic upheaval.
It should come as no surprise then, that B. Braun emerged virtually unscathed from last year’s economic meltdown. In fact, the company experienced stronger growth than the market average,
posting organic overall growth of 6 percent and a 4.9 percent jump in gross profit. (Editor’s note: Percentages reflect changes based on the local currency in which the financials were reported—in this case, the Euro—and do not take into account annual foreign currency exchange fluctuations. Dollar amounts were converted using the exchange rate on the last day of the reporting period, Dec. 31).
B. Braun reported $5.33 billion in sales last year and $2.47 billion in gross profit. The company experienced higher sales in most areas of the world but saw a decrease in the United States due to a decline in value of the U.S. dollar.
“The Management Board considers performance in fiscal year 2008 as satisfactory overall,” B. Braun’s 2008 annual report states. “We were able to increase both sales and interim profit. The global financial crisis that dominated the year has only had a minor impact on B. Braun. Our sales volumes to date have not suffered any adverse consequences. However, we were negatively affected by high energy and raw material prices during the first eight months of the year, and by the extremely volatile currency markets. The healthcare market as a whole was not affected by the crisis in 2008.”
Some of B. Braun’s profit though, was affected. Operating profit fell 0.9 percent to $487.3 million, while net profit slid 15 percent to $260.8 million. The company’s profit before taxes also took a hit, falling 5 percent to $378 million.
B. Braun posted sales gains in every corner of the world last year except North America. Europe and Africa reported the most significant gain, as sales grew 11.6 percent compared with 2007 levels to reach $2.17 billion. Germany posted the next highest gain, growing 5.6 percent last year to reach $1.14 billion. The Asia/Australia market generated $605.7 million in sales for B. Braun, an 8.8 percent increase compared with 2007 levels, while Latin America made $305.7 million for the company, a 5.6 percent gain compared with the prior year. With $1.1 billion in sales, North America was the third-highest revenue generator in 2008, but the U.S. dollar’s decline triggered a 4.4 percent decrease in sales compared with 2007.
All four of B. Braun’s divisions posted sales gains last year, with the Avitum unit achieving double-digit growth. The company’s Hospital Care division, which manufactures infusion therapy products, needles and syringes, catheters, IV sets and other products for basic clinical care and intensive medicine, reported $2.48 billion in sales, a 3.7 percent increase compared with its 2007 result. According to the annual report, the Hospital Care division was “hit relatively hard” by unfavorable exchange rates. “The division was not able to achieve growth rates it had in previous years,” the report stated. “If exchange rates had been similar, the increase in sales would have been significantly higher.”
In Europe, the Hospital Care division further consolidated its business in 2008. Demand for large volume parenterals and IV catheters (particularly the Vasofix Safety and Introcan Safety IV catheters) contributed to the sales increase in this division.
Sales for the Aesculap unit climbed 7.3 percent to $1.54 billion. Sales in Europe and Asia were robust, but the company reported weak growth in Latin America and a decline in North America (due to exchange rates). This unit develops surgical technologies, sterile container systems, closure technologies, as well as orthopedic, spine, neurosurgery and vascular systems. Last year’s main sales drivers didn’t change much from 2007—they continued to be surgical instruments, sutures and the ortho-traumatology segment. New products attracted customers, too—executives said the OrthoPilot Next Generation for the implantation of knee and hip endoprostheses and the EndoSponge for treating complications from rectal resection proved popular in 2008.
The Outpatient Market division generated $698.9 million in sales for the company, a 4.9 percent increase compared with its 2007 year-end result. European customers generated the bulk of the sales, with Asia posting “stable” sales growth and Latin America performing poorly. As with the company’s other divisions, sales in North America were obliterated by the dollar’s decline.
Popular products within this unit last year include those for parenteral nutrition, wound care management and hygiene management.
B. Braun’s Avitum unit, which provides dialysis products and services, once again reported the most significant sales growth of the company’s four divisions. Sales jumped 14.6 percent to $567.7 million as the unit focused on recruiting more European customers. Latin America contributed considerably to the sales gain, but business in North America and Asia merely kept pace with general market growth. Sales figures and profit margins were not the only measures of B. Braun’s success last year. Construction began on several new buildings, including a medical manufacturing facility in Hanoi, Vietnam, and a 164,000 square-foot LIFE Nutrition and Central Laboratory facility in Melsungen, Germany. The $267 million nutrition lab will provide hospitals with IV nutrition to patients who can no longer take nourishment by mouth.
B. Braun subsidiary TETEC opened a 4,265 square-foot facility in Reutlingen, Germany, for the production of cartilage transplants. The building includes 1,738 square feet of office space.
In October, B. Braun celebrated the manufacture of the 500 millionth Ecoflac container. Two months later, the company celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foray into the manufacturing of sutures. To commemorate the milestone, B. Braun sponsored a competition to generate ideas and facilitate dialogue with scientists worldwide. Doctors from 27 countries submitted more than 200 proposals based on the theme, “The Future of Sutures.”
KEY EXECUTIVES:
Ludwig Georg Braun, Chairman of Management Board
Michael Ungethüm, Vice Chairman of Management Board
Heinz-Walter Grobe, Head of Finance
Wolfgang Feller, Head of Avitum Division
Caroll H. Neubauer, Head of North America Region
Meinrad Lugan, Head of Hospital Care and OPM Divisions
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 38,132
GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS: Melsungen, Germany
The executive team at B. Braun has always taken a conservative, long-term approach to business management. That approach has served the company well throughout its 169 years, particularly during times of economic upheaval.
It should come as no surprise then, that B. Braun emerged virtually unscathed from last year’s economic meltdown. In fact, the company experienced stronger growth than the market average,
The Aesculapium in Tuttlingen, Germany. Photo courtesy of B.Braun. |
B. Braun reported $5.33 billion in sales last year and $2.47 billion in gross profit. The company experienced higher sales in most areas of the world but saw a decrease in the United States due to a decline in value of the U.S. dollar.
“The Management Board considers performance in fiscal year 2008 as satisfactory overall,” B. Braun’s 2008 annual report states. “We were able to increase both sales and interim profit. The global financial crisis that dominated the year has only had a minor impact on B. Braun. Our sales volumes to date have not suffered any adverse consequences. However, we were negatively affected by high energy and raw material prices during the first eight months of the year, and by the extremely volatile currency markets. The healthcare market as a whole was not affected by the crisis in 2008.”
Some of B. Braun’s profit though, was affected. Operating profit fell 0.9 percent to $487.3 million, while net profit slid 15 percent to $260.8 million. The company’s profit before taxes also took a hit, falling 5 percent to $378 million.
B. Braun posted sales gains in every corner of the world last year except North America. Europe and Africa reported the most significant gain, as sales grew 11.6 percent compared with 2007 levels to reach $2.17 billion. Germany posted the next highest gain, growing 5.6 percent last year to reach $1.14 billion. The Asia/Australia market generated $605.7 million in sales for B. Braun, an 8.8 percent increase compared with 2007 levels, while Latin America made $305.7 million for the company, a 5.6 percent gain compared with the prior year. With $1.1 billion in sales, North America was the third-highest revenue generator in 2008, but the U.S. dollar’s decline triggered a 4.4 percent decrease in sales compared with 2007.
All four of B. Braun’s divisions posted sales gains last year, with the Avitum unit achieving double-digit growth. The company’s Hospital Care division, which manufactures infusion therapy products, needles and syringes, catheters, IV sets and other products for basic clinical care and intensive medicine, reported $2.48 billion in sales, a 3.7 percent increase compared with its 2007 result. According to the annual report, the Hospital Care division was “hit relatively hard” by unfavorable exchange rates. “The division was not able to achieve growth rates it had in previous years,” the report stated. “If exchange rates had been similar, the increase in sales would have been significantly higher.”
In Europe, the Hospital Care division further consolidated its business in 2008. Demand for large volume parenterals and IV catheters (particularly the Vasofix Safety and Introcan Safety IV catheters) contributed to the sales increase in this division.
Sales for the Aesculap unit climbed 7.3 percent to $1.54 billion. Sales in Europe and Asia were robust, but the company reported weak growth in Latin America and a decline in North America (due to exchange rates). This unit develops surgical technologies, sterile container systems, closure technologies, as well as orthopedic, spine, neurosurgery and vascular systems. Last year’s main sales drivers didn’t change much from 2007—they continued to be surgical instruments, sutures and the ortho-traumatology segment. New products attracted customers, too—executives said the OrthoPilot Next Generation for the implantation of knee and hip endoprostheses and the EndoSponge for treating complications from rectal resection proved popular in 2008.
The Outpatient Market division generated $698.9 million in sales for the company, a 4.9 percent increase compared with its 2007 year-end result. European customers generated the bulk of the sales, with Asia posting “stable” sales growth and Latin America performing poorly. As with the company’s other divisions, sales in North America were obliterated by the dollar’s decline.
Popular products within this unit last year include those for parenteral nutrition, wound care management and hygiene management.
B. Braun’s Avitum unit, which provides dialysis products and services, once again reported the most significant sales growth of the company’s four divisions. Sales jumped 14.6 percent to $567.7 million as the unit focused on recruiting more European customers. Latin America contributed considerably to the sales gain, but business in North America and Asia merely kept pace with general market growth. Sales figures and profit margins were not the only measures of B. Braun’s success last year. Construction began on several new buildings, including a medical manufacturing facility in Hanoi, Vietnam, and a 164,000 square-foot LIFE Nutrition and Central Laboratory facility in Melsungen, Germany. The $267 million nutrition lab will provide hospitals with IV nutrition to patients who can no longer take nourishment by mouth.
B. Braun subsidiary TETEC opened a 4,265 square-foot facility in Reutlingen, Germany, for the production of cartilage transplants. The building includes 1,738 square feet of office space.
In October, B. Braun celebrated the manufacture of the 500 millionth Ecoflac container. Two months later, the company celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foray into the manufacturing of sutures. To commemorate the milestone, B. Braun sponsored a competition to generate ideas and facilitate dialogue with scientists worldwide. Doctors from 27 countries submitted more than 200 proposals based on the theme, “The Future of Sutures.”