When we went public, we set ourselves the target of outperforming our markets year on year. Through continued sales growth and even higher growth in profit, our aim is to achieve a sustained increase in enterprise value for our shareholders. At that time, we established targets of 6% for annual growth in net sales and of 8% for EBITA (Glossary) . This maxim still applies to the medium term, although in the short term there is a possibility of a deterioration in the business given the global impact of the financial market crisis.
This positive medium-term assessment is supported by the view that existing trends within our target industries will lead to continued investment, even against a background of slower economic growth. In this respect, the relative stability of retail banking and the continuing and possibly even more intense competition in the industry offer additional opportunities for Wincor Nixdorf. These are all the more likely to arise since the need to make cost-savings increases in line with the intensity of competition, and Wincor Nixdorf’s portfolio of solutions (Glossary) is specifically geared towards providing its customers with a competitive advantage in this area.
Our growth strategy, based on four key levers, is still in place, and involves growth through global expansion, through innovation, through high-end services (Glossary) and through our operations in related industries.
As part of our global expansion strategy, we will take advantage of interesting opportunities to make smaller acquisitions as they arise – especially with a view to expanding our activities in the fields of software development, IT system management and Professional Services (Glossary) .
Another factor contributing to this improved business outlook in the medium term is the fact that Wincor Nixdorf’s recent activities have created a more favorable basis for new business. During the year under review, the Group drove ahead with its global expansion strategy and was thus able to reduce its dependence on individual customers and the development of single national economies. Innovative new solutions were added to our portfolio and are already providing significant cost and service benefits in relation to the business processes of banks and retailers. Wincor Nixdorf has also expanded its activities in the fields of Consultancy, Software Integration, Managed Services (Glossary) and Outsourcing (Glossary) . As is the case with product-related services (Glossary) , these generally involve contracts that run for several years, thus helping to generate a stable contribution to revenue. In addition, by focusing on the transfer of know-how, we are successfully transferring our expertise in the branch and self-service business to other industries as a means of exploiting additional potential growth in these areas.
Fiscal 2008/2009.
With regard to fiscal 2008/2009, both the medium-term trends in the retail banking and retail industries and further improvements in our position at the start of the year provide Wincor Nixdorf with opportunities to benefit from the looming difficulties in the wider economy. On the basis of the information available in November 2008, the Group therefore expects to follow up the very good performance of 2007/2008 and maintain approximately the same high level of business.
Despite this rather positive forecast, Wincor Nixdorf also takes into account that at present it is not possible to predict with any certainty whether and when the financial market crisis can be contained and what its economic repercussions will be. This applies equally to both the established and emerging markets. Depending on the intensity of the impact on finance and the real economy, we cannot exclude the possibility that retail banks and retailers will temporarily cut back their investment budgets. With this in mind, Wincor Nixdorf is preparing itself so that it can react appropriately to all the conceivable challenges that might face the organization. The top priority here is to create flexible cost structures that help to protect our margins. To this end, Wincor Nixdorf is taking appropriate measures in Production, Sales and Service, among other areas, to ensure it is ready to meet any unforeseeable developments.
