Schiltach/Frankfurt - Growth through innovation, coupled with real value for the customer: the fiscal year 2014 ended for the Hansgrohe Group with new all-time highs in sales revenues and earnings. This was announced today by Thorsten Klapproth, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hansgrohe SE, and Udo Kraus, Vice President Finance and Controlling, at the sanitary fixture and shower manufacturer’s financial press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. The globally operating company generated sales revenues of 874.1 million Euros (2013: 841.4 million Euros), which represents an increase of 3.9 percent. At 17.3 percent, the EBIT margin also topped the previous year’s figure (2013: 14.9 percent). “In 2014 we achieved growth in virtually all of our distribution regions – especially in our European core markets,” Thorsten Klapproth stated. “The fact that we gained additional market share and grew more rapidly than our competitors in many markets, can largely be attributed to our pronounced innovative strength. With the new products from our Axor and Hansgrohe brands, we were able to convince customers around the world, as well as set new benchmarks in our industry.” The domestic business was particularly dynamic, with a robust growth rate of 6.3 percent. Impulses from the construction sector combined with additional orders in the project business, made strong contributions to the growth achieved in the domestic market. Hansgrohe’s foreign turnover was up by 3.2 percent. Considerable growth was recorded by the subsidiaries in the UK and in France; North America was among the distribution regions exhibiting the strongest absolute growth in 2014. Hansgrohe also recorded good turnover development in Turkey, where the company has been operating its own distribution company in Istanbul since the end of 2013.

At 77.2 percent, the foreign business quota remained virtually unchanged year-on-year (2013: 77.7 percent). The design brand Axor managed to maintain its position in a difficult market environment in 2014 and further strengthen its role as a source of inspiration in the international sanitation industry. Spectacular product innovations and numerous international awards underscored Axor’s pioneering role in providing custom bathroom solutions of the highest aesthetic and technological standards. One of the highlights of last year was the inaugural presentation of the Axor Starck V fountain-mixer. The washbasin mixer is transparent and creates a fascinating vortex when in operation. In fact, Axor Starck V incorporates several technological innovations: the spout, made of crystal glass, is removable and can be cleaned in the dishwasher; in addition, the mixer also features a reduced flow rate of four liters per minute. Great sales potential is also manifested by the Axor Citterio E collection and the Axor Universal Accessories system, which were both launched in 2014 in Europe.

The creative strengths and services of the Axor Manufaktur were in greater demand than ever before in 2014; especially the scratch- and cleaner-resistant special finishes, applied to refine sanitary fixtures, resulted in a considerable boost in sales. Offering technological innovation, high-quality design and comfort in usability, the Hansgrohe brand was able to convince customers from all over the world in 2014: the total business volume of Hansgrohe mixers, showerheads, shower systems and drainage plumbing rose by over five percent in the 2014 fiscal year; within this, the showerhead segment was among the bestsellers. The user-friendly products featuring the Hansgrohe Select technology established themselves extremely well over all distribution regions. The company has since integrated this technology into other parts of the Hansgrohe range of products: new benchmarks were set by the premium brand in the volume segment, where handheld, overhead, as well as shower systems in the bestselling Croma line now also feature the Select button.

Hansgrohe also put its innovative strength to use to provide greater comfort beyond the bathroom: with the Metris Select mixer, the Hansgrohe Select technology is now also available for the kitchen. The sustained growth of the Hansgrohe Group is also represented by the number of employees: with an increase of 149 employees over the previous year, Hansgrohe continued to grow; by December 31, 2014 some 3,650 employees worked for the company worldwide, with about 2,230 based in Germany. Last year 43 apprentices started their vocational training with Hansgrohe. With a total of 145 apprentices and trainees, the training quota currently stands at 6.6%, which exceeds the Germany-wide average for the metal-working industry. “We are in a strong position now, and over recent years we have laid the foundations for continued growth,” Thorsten Klapproth stated. “Our products are among the most innovative worldwide, we play a leading role in product design, and we have established an international presence on which we can build. In the future, we will be offering our customers even greater added value with products for the bathroom and the kitchen, and as a trendsetter within the industry, we are set to grow faster than the market.” Hansgrohe is based in Schiltach in Germany’s Black Forest. In its 114-year history, it has acquired a reputation as a leading innovator in technology, design and sustainability in the sanitation sector.

The mixers, showerheads and shower systems created by Hansgrohe SE are original products that make bathrooms more functional, more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing. These quality products can be found in such prestigious venues as the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary II, London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (the world’s tallest building), the German Chancellery in Berlin, New York’s yoo! luxury residences and the Masdar City Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi. The company and its products have been honoured with numerous awards, most recently the Red Dot “Best of the Best” Award for product design, the Wallpaper* Design Award 2014 in the category “Best Shower Concept” and the Interior Innovation Award 2014 “Best of Best”. In 2014, the company’s brands Axor, Hansgrohe, Pharo and Pontos generated more than EUR 874 million in sales (compared to EUR 841 million in 2013). Today the Hansgrohe Group employs more than 3,600 people worldwide, about two-thirds of which work in Germany. The company, which has a zero tolerance policy on counterfeit products and design infringements, manufactures its products in Germany, in France, The Netherlands, the United States and China.

www.hansgrohe-usa.com