Regional Development
From a regional perspective sales in the EMEA-region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) reached €240 million in Q2, a slight increase versus last year but significantly better than the order books at end of Q1. Year to date, sales increased by 5.5 percent (in Euro terms 5.8 percent) to €598 million. This represents 67 percent of total consolidated sales. The gross profit margin increased further by 210 basis points and reached very strong 55.3 percent compared to 53.2 percent last year. Orders on hand at the end of June accounted for €486 million, a decline of 7.9 percent compared with last year, which can be attributed to higher than expected sales in Q2 as well as a delayed order income due to Spring/Summer sales meetings in some key countries taking place one month later than last year. Adjusted by these effects, the order book would stand at around –3 percent.
The Americas reported sales of €108 million in Q2, a currency-neutral growth of an impressive 55.1 percent (in Euro 51.2 percent). This represents a further acceleration since the beginning of the year as well as since Q1. First six months sales increased currency-neutral 46.3 percent (40.2 percent) to €203 million. The region now accounts for 23 percent of consolidated sales. The gross profit margin in this region improved by 160 basis points during the first six months and reached 48.2 percent compared with 46.6 percent last year. Orders on hand increased significantly and reached €205 million with a currency neutral growth of 63.1 percent or 66.3 percent in Euro terms. The US market achieved a remarkable sales growth of 42.4 percent in Q2 and 36.3 percent in H1. The order backlog improved significantly by the end of June, reaching US$ 211 million or an outstanding growth rate of 60.8 percent.
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