Our core business divisions are Orthobionic® and Bionicmobility®. Both divisions have successfully continued their successful growth of recent years, albeit with different rates of growth.
In 2007, the Orthobionic® division increased its sales by € 23.4 million, or 6.9 %, to € 361.7 million. When exchange rate differences are taken into account, organic growth was at 9.7 %. Leg prosthetics and orthotics are the main drivers of growth.
In the Bionicmobility® division, sales increased by € 1.4 million to € 92.8 million, representing a currency-adjusted growth of 4.9 %. Our pediatric wheelchair and seating/ positioning segments played a key role in these successful results. In 2007, revenues in the neurostimulation segment were generated for the first time.
As a result of different growth rates and our divestiture of Endres, the Orthobionic® division increased its share in overall revenue by 3.5 %. This division accounts for approximately 80 % of sales.
| 2007 | 2006 | Delta | |
| Orthobionic® | 361.7 | 338.3 | + 6.9 % |
| Bionicmobility® | 92.8 | 91.4 | + 1.5 % |
| Continuing operations | 454.5 | 429.7 | + 5.8 % |
| Discontinued operations | 2.4 | 17.6 | - 86.4 % |
| Total | 456.9 | 447.3 | + 2.1 % |
Overall, growth in our sales markets was very pleasing and exceeded our expectations in many areas. Once again, the EEMEA region (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) showed the strongest growth at a level of 9.8 % for the year. The region Western Europe generated organic growth of 8.4 %. Revenues in the market reached almost € 236 million, of which € 84.2 million are from domestic customers. As a result, Western Europe increased its share by 3 % to 51.6 %.
The trend in our American markets was also positive. Nominal revenues increased by 1.6 % in this region. Sales growth was at 8.8 % after taking into account exchange rate differences. Sales in the Asia/ Pacific region fell by a nominal 1.1 % or € 0.3 million. Nevertheless, when adjusted for exchange rate differences, the region achieved a 3.6 % growth.
In 2007, approximately 63 % of our revenues were generated in Europe and were therefore largely free of direct exchange rate risks. The growth regions EEMEA, Latin America and Asia/ Pacific accounted for roughly 20 % of our revenues in 2007.
| 2007 | 2006 | Delta | |
| Western Europe | 235.7 | 217.4 | + 8.4 % |
| EEMEA | 52.5 | 47.9 | + 9.6 % |
| Americas | 138.0 | 135.8 | + 1.6 % |
| Asia/ Pacific | 28.3 | 28.6 | - 1.1 % |
| Continuing operations | 454.5 | 429.7 | + 5.8 % |
| Discontinued operations | 2.4 | 17.6 | - 86.4 % |
| Total | 456.9 | 447.3 | + 2.1 % |
During the business year, the number of employees in the company’s core divisions grew by 119 people and now totals 3,730. In addition, we are currently training 89 young people, of which 85 in Germany.
The number of full-time employees in the Western Europe region grew by 137 people. Fifteen new jobs were added in the EEMEA region. This represents an increase of 10.7 %.
| 2007 | 2006 | Delta | |
| Western Europe | 2,444 | 2,307 | + 5.9 % |
| EEMEA | 155 | 140 | + 10.7 % |
| Americas | 757 | 784 | - 3.4 % |
| Asia/ Pacific | 374 | 380 | - 1.6 % |
| Continuing operations | 3,730 | 3,611 | + 3.3 % |
| Discontinued operations | 0 | 128 | - 100.0 % |
| Total | 3,730 | 3,739 | - 0.2 % |
