The Banking segment performed very well in the fiscal year just ended. Net sales increased by 15% to €1,178 million (previous year: €1,028 million). We succeeded in generating forward momentum in both our product and Services business in all regions. EBITA in the Banking segment climbed by 14% to €120 million (previous year: €105 million). This increase in profit was the result of higher net sales and strict cost management. The EBITA margin remained unchanged year on year at 10.2%.

We benefit from an exceptional level of expertise in business processes relating to bank branches as well as in the field of self-service solutions. This is also expressed in the fact that we offer an all-embracing range of hardware products, software and services. We increasingly link this portfolio of products and services to end-to-end solutions for all business processes. The best example of this is cash management, i.e. IT-assisted optimization and automation of cash handling in bank branches.

Wincor Nixdorf took another major step forward in the area of next-generation cash management solutions during the year under review. This included, for example, software that identifies the replenishment intervals for self-service systems, transmits this data remotely and thus reduces costs for cash logistics and interest expense via made-to-measure replenishment. A further component of our portfolio is self-service systems that are able to automate the entire acceptance and account-entry process for cash and checks (cash/check deposit). These self-service systems contribute to a reduction in processing and handling costs.

We have leveraged further competitive advantages in net-centric and multichannel software architectures through continued development. This includes the net-centric software solution ProClassic/Enterprise, which allows various sales channels to be integrated on a single platform. New self-service functions and teller/cashier applications as well as modifications and changes are provided centrally and are available for all networked systems. In addition, implementation based on internationally recognized J2EE standards and application server technology allows inclusion of the self-service channel in a top-level multichannel architecture.

We were also highly successful with innovative software tools to monitor and control self-service systems. These software tools are designed to identify and monitor the operating status of all systems within the networks at any time, thus significantly increasing system availability.

We received several awards for our innovations in the previous fiscal year from specialist audiences:

• The U.K. specialist journal “The Banker” awarded Wincor Nixdorf and the U.K. bank HSBC with the Banker Technology Award for an exemplary design and branch refurbishment project. The aim was to exclusively equip branches to meet customer needs and introduce an improved service. The use of state-of-the-art self-service technology played a pivotal role.
• The Self-Service World Magazine honored Barclays Bank for its successful kiosk project that it implemented together with Wincor Nixdorf. The result: a “Gold Award.” This project aimed to take the strain off cashiers and the back office within the area of invoice settlement and money transfers by deploying multifunctional bank terminals. In addition, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Germany’s Federal Employment Agency) received a “Silver Award” from Self-Service World Magazine in the category of “Public-sector Clients” for the self-service project implemented together with Wincor Nixdorf: “Cash Dispensers for Fast Social Payments.”
• The CIFTEE (China International Exhibition on Financial Banking Technology & Equipment) jury honored the cash recycling system ProCash 4000 as “Best Product at CIFTEE 2005.”
• Landesbank Berlin won second place in the category “Best Use of IT in Retail Banking” for the European Banking Technology Awards 2005 with a branch concept equipped with the ProCash/Fonet software.