2015: Amazone - strong despite the weak market situation

In the 2015 financial year the Amazone Group achieved a turnover of 402 million € (excluding trading turnover) meaning that Amazone has performed well despite of the declining markets. In comparison with the previous year, the 2015 result, with a decrease of 3.5 %, exceeds the original expectations. At the beginning of the year, the forecast for the machinery sector was predicting a drop of 10 % due to world political crises and the poor development of agricultural commodity prices.

In 2015 the export share amounted to around 80 % of turnover. The number of permanent employees remained at 1,800 last year and investment in research and development continued to be more than 5 % of turnover.

As in previous years, Amazone also invested strongly in 2015. So, in July, in Hude-Altmoorhausen, the topping-out ceremony for the new paint facility took place, which, at 20 million Euros, is the biggest single investment in the company's history. In August 2015 a new subsidiary was opened in China, which primarily serves as sales- and service base and yet at the same time offers the possibility to carry out the assembly of Amazone machines directly on-site. And, as a new project, a "Test-Zentrum" will be built at the Hasbergen-Gaste site in 2016.

In the DLG image barometer, AMAZONE once again took 4th place in the agricultural machinery sector. So, the company was again ranked as the best among all medium sized companies; the first three places being covered by the companies Fendt, Claas and John Deere.

Expectations for 2016 are cautiously positive. The decreases seen in turnover recently seem to have bottomed out so that a modest recovery can be expected. With numerous innovations, many of which have been introduced at Agritechnica 2015, Amazonen-Werke is well positioned to fulfil the market demands. Also the medium to long-term perspectives for the agricultural machinery sector are still good. Against the background of the ever-growing world population and the shortage of arable land, it can be expected that the need for agricultural produce and the demand for efficient agricultural machinery will increase yet further.