Viewed geographically, business in Germany was up slightly year on year. Investments primarily served to increase branch competitiveness. At the same time, they reinforced sales activities at branch level with the help of self-service systems as sales and marketing instruments.

Wincor Nixdorf continued its growth in Europe. Our product business was driven by replacement investments in self-service systems, which were acquired as part of the Y2K conversion and the introduction of the euro. We were able to secure many orders in countries with highly distinctive retail banking, such as Italy, France, Spain and the U.K. Within this area, the main emphasis is on automating branch processes. The focus was on solutions that optimize cash handling processes using self-service technology (deposit and recycling systems, CCDM – Cash Check Deposit Module) and solutions to strengthen sales capabilities in the branches. Wincor Nixdorf also recorded higher order intake in Eastern Europe for these products. Solutions to make IT infrastructures more uniform were furthermore in demand. The largest growth driver, however, was the expansion of branch networks. This also applies to the Turkish market, where we were able to further grow our strong position in the products market.

The highest growth rates were recorded in Asia/Pacific/Africa. The expansion of self-service networks continued in almost all countries, as did the automation of cash handling. This gave a major boost to our product business for monofunctional systems. Business in China enjoyed particularly strong growth. Wincor Nixdorf is listed as a supplier for all Tier 1 banks in China and secured several key orders. We were able to generate significant successes in our product business in India, Asia's second-largest high-growth market.

We continued on a path of solid growth in the Americas during the past fiscal year. Our strategic sales alliance with IBM made a positive impact in particular in the Canadian and Latin American markets. Demand for the CCDM deposit module was particularly favorable as a result of “Initiative Check 21” in the U.S., a program that supports automated check processing (envelope-free). Our CCDM module allows checks and cash to be deposited directly into the system, with subsequent account processing. We improved the launch pad for future growth in Mexico and Brazil as well as in Argentina and Columbia, where we were able to acquire key strategic projects. In addition, Banking business in Venezuela accounted for a major proportion of growth in the region.