Confidence despite the crisis: Phoenix Contact stays on track

Blomberg, Germany, April 27, 2020 -- Phoenix Contact has just published figures for 2019 and given an assessment for this year. In the framework of a digital press conference, CEO Frank Stuehrenberg announced that he was quite confident to finish this year of crisis with less loss than the year 2009, when the global financial crisis caused a recession in the real economy.

"We have finished a successful decade", Stuehrenberg said. In 2019, Phoenix Contact generated a turnover of 2.48 billion euros, which corresponds to a ratio of 4.5 percent. Europe grew by 4.3 percent, America by 3.5 percent, and Asia/Pacific by 3.6 percent. The corporate group employed another 200 people worldwide and has 17,600 employees now. The investment volume amounted to 200 million euros. Investments were made in expanding logistics at the headquarters in Blomberg and the Herrenberg site in southern Germany. A new production and logistics center is being built in Nanjing, China, with 42,000 m^², the largest built-up area in the company's history. With these capacity expansions, Phoenix Contact considers itself well equipped for further growth in the coming years.

The year 2020 was supposed to bring a growth of 3 to 4 percent; due to the pandemic, Phoenix Contact now expects a minus of 5 to 10 percent, which is, according to CEO Stuehrenberg, "a manageable dimension". "We want to get out of the crisis the way we went in, with all employees and all locations!"

Instead of participating in the Hannover Messe, which would have taken place from April 20 to 24, Phoenix Contact is now presenting its new developments in the framework of a virtual trade fair and a conference in the Internet. From April 27 to 29, the "Dialog Days" offer presentations, discussions, and live communication with experts, accompanied by a virtual exhibition booth. Creative solutions for a smart world is the title. Topics are electromobility, building automation, cyber security, platforms, and data-based cloud solutions, as well as business models. "Even after the crisis, technology will be the solution; there will be a greater depth of networking" Stuehrenberg assured. The virtual trade fair was able to record 500 registrations on April 17 already. "The demand is great, the digital transformation continues and we want to successfully provide solutions – innovations that are needed."