Orders received by Rieter in 2006 rose by 21% to 3 903.5 million CHF. Consolidated sales also showed a striking increase, rising by 15% (11% excluding currency movements and acquisitions) to 3 579.9 million CHF, thus surpassing the previous record figure of 3 136.6 million CHF set in the 2004 financial year.
The group's sales growth was fueled mainly by Textile Systems, but Automotive Systems also achieved a new record, despite declining vehicle output in its main markets. The healthy development of order intake and sales was due mainly to organic growth.
At the end of 2006, the Rieter Group employed a workforce of some 14 800 worldwide, an increase of 1% compared with the end of the previous year. This was due mainly to the commissioning of new plants by Rieter Automotive Systems in regions with lower labor costs.
Rieter Textile Systems processed higher order volumes with a virtually unchanged permanent workforce. Compared with the previous year, the overall proportion of the total workforce employed in low-cost countries increased by 5 percentage points to 33%.