Wedemark, Germany (June 28, 2023)—The pro audio market has been on a rollercoaster of sorts in the post-pandemic era, dealing with supply chain issues, economic concerns and more. For Sennheiser Group, however, it’s been an encouraging time—the independent family company has announced results for its fiscal year 2022, revealing that its sales of professional audio solutions increased by 26 percent to 467.7 million euros
The rise in sales enabled the company to exceed targets it had set itself, as well as make sustainable investments for the future. Some of that made possible in particular by the sale of its Consumer Business and the ensuing focus on business with professional customers.
“We have managed to keep up the positive momentum from 2021,” said Co-CEO Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. “Our focus on professional audio solutions has enabled us to grow disproportionately while increasing profitability in a year that, like many other companies, presented us with major macroeconomic challenges.”
Particular growth drivers in fiscal year 2022 were the increased demand for professional meeting solutions due to newly emerging formats of hybrid working and learning, as well as the resurgence of the event industry.
“The year 2022 has shown that the strategy we developed as a company was the right one,” says Co-CEO Daniel Sennheiser. “It has shown us once again what our employees achieve through their competence, motivation and passion, even in challenging times. For that we are very grateful.” The focus on the Professional Business has generated disproportionate growth, so that the company is expected to return to its original size more quickly than previously anticipated following the sale of the Consumer Business.
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In total, the Sennheiser Group generated sales of 507.4 million euros in fiscal year 2022. The Consumer Business, which accounted for around half of total sales until 2021, was still included for two months in 2022. Total earnings amounted to 114.0 million euros before interest and taxes (EBIT). This includes special effects from the sale of the Consumer business.
The Sennheiser Group’s sales growth was reflected in all regions. The Americas region generated a total of 177.8 million euros, making it the most dynamic market in global terms; the largest increase in sales was achieved here, at 41.1 percent. In the APAC region, sales amounted to 93.0 million euros, representing growth of 24.1 percent.
In 2022, the company invested a total of 41.8 million euros in research and development, which corresponds to around 8 percent of total sales. At the same time, R&D was repositioned as a central function within the Sennheiser Group, with the particular aim of being better able to develop the software portfolio.
In parallel, the company is continuing to drive forward the conversion of its entire IT infrastructure with regard to digital business models. Sennheiser invested more than 4.5 million euros in 2022 and plans further investments in the double-digit millions in the coming years.
The Sennheiser Group countered the uncertainties arising from geopolitical developments by investing in its supply chain, investing in its own production sites. A total of 17.8 million euros was invested in these projects in 2022. “We firmly believe that our own production offers significant strategic added value; the challenges in the global supply chains last year confirmed this approach,” said co-CEO Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. “In addition, this is the best way for us to ensure the quality of our Sennheiser and Neumann products, which has always distinguished us.”
