Bosch Group sales up 10 percent in 2021

Bosch today announced that its group’s total sales increased by 10 percent to 78.8 billion euros. The company generated sales of 71.5 billion euros in 2020. The company in a release said that its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from operations have also increased by more than half to reach 3.2 billion euros. The EBIT margin from operations is expected to be around 4 percent, compared with 2.8 percent in the previous year.

“Our business performed much better in 2021 than expected. We were able to exceed our forecasts despite many challenges, such as cost burdens due to supply bottlenecks and price increases for raw materials,” said Dr Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management, Robert Bosch GmbH.

Climate as growth driver

The Bosch chairman said he  expects the efforts of many countries to move toward a climate-neutral economy to significantly stimulate growth in the future: “Climate action is driving our business forward – from mobility solutions and industrial automation to building technology and home appliances,” Hartung said.

 “The company is continuing to invest large sums in strategically important fields, including a total of around 1 billion euros in microelectronics and electromobility this year alone. At the same time, Bosch is increasingly focusing on partnerships, such as the recently announced alliance with Volkswagen for automated driving,” he added.

India investment

In India, Bosch which celebrates a 100 years in India announced that it will invest Rs 2,000 crore by 2026. This is mainly for the advanced automotive technologies and digital mobility space. Over the years Bosch has invested around Rs 900 crore annually at group level in the country. The company said that it will continue to invest in technology-neutral powertrain business and believes that India’s quest for sustainable mobility alternate fuel vehicles can be intermediary for reaching electrification in certain segments and help tackle the challenges of price, charging and other factors.

Outlook 2022

In its outlook for 2022, Bosch said it expects the global economy to grow between 4 and 4.5 percent in 2022, as against some 5.5 percent in 2021. Despite impressive progress made with vaccinations in many countries, the company expects Covid-19 to continue to impose heavy burdens on society and the economy in 2022. In addition, ongoing supply bottlenecks and rising prices for raw materials, primary products, and transportation will have a major impact on the global economy and affect the business of many sectors, especially the automotive industry.

The marked rise in inflation in many sectors and regions is also clouding the outlook. Provided the business environment is not disrupted further, the Bosch Group expects to grow its sales in 2022.