At €2,239 million, consolidated net sales for the IT services provider, which specializes in solutions tailored to the operations of banking branches and retail stores, almost reached the 2008/2009 figure of €2,250 million. The Group's operating profit (EBITA) contracted to €162 million (2008/2009: €179 million), and net profit for the period was 7% lower at €106 million (€114 million). The Group's equity base was up €28 million at €358 million. Meanwhile, net debt was scaled back by €16 million to €134 million. Against this background, the company believes it is well placed to take advantage of the anticipated upturn in its markets in the current fiscal year 2010/2011: "We aim to achieve growth of 6% in net sales and 8% in operating profit. The likelihood of achieving this target will depend on the speed of market recovery," explained President and CEO Eckard Heidloff, who sees these figures as a return to the medium-term annual growth targets the company had set itself on flotation.

Despite the recent publication of more optimistic economic indicators, Wincor Nixdorf sees the fiscal year 2010/2011 just started merely as a transitional phase. Overall, it expects the next two fiscal years to produce an increasingly more favorable business environment. To ensure that it can take full advantage, the company has spent recent months making improvements to its internal processes and structures, while its traditionally high level of spending on research and development has remained almost unchanged at €101 million, equivalent to 4.5% of net sales.

One outstanding example of the innovations developed by Wincor Nixdorf's R&D teams is the new concept of Cash Cycle Management Solutions, presented at the beginning of 2010. By applying the latest technology, the company has brought about a fundamental change in the way cash is handled - one that can deliver cost savings of over 20% in bank branches and retail stores alone. With the volume of cash in circulation growing worldwide and leading to annual processing costs of around 300 billion U.S. dollars, the market potential in this area is enormous. Much of the demand will come from banks and retailers. As a result of Wincor Nixdorf's Cash Cycle Management Solutions, it is now possible for the first time to recycle cash taken at a supermarket, for example, by making it available for disbursement at an ATM. This avoids a good deal of time-consuming manual processing of the cash and shortens the logistics chain. As well as reducing costs, the new system offers a number of other benefits, including improved security and transparency. "Innovations such as our new concept of Cash Cycle Management Solutions are an established part of our growth strategy for the coming years. Having seen our net sales contract by just by 3% during the recent crisis, we can now move forward with confidence and leave the period of economic upheaval behind us," observed Heidloff.

Regional performance inconsistent
The regional performance was once again inconsistent in fiscal 2009/2010. In Germany, total net sales rose 3% to €644 million (€627 million). As a result, the country's contribution to total Group sales increased to 29% (28%).

In Europe (excluding Germany), net sales were down 10% to €959 million (€1,064 million). Despite a fall in the year under review, at 43% (47%) Europe (excluding Germany) still accounted for the largest share of total Group sales.

Net sales in the Asia/Pacific/Africa region were down 8% to €332 million (€359 million). As a result, the region's share of total Group sales for the reporting year was 15% (16%).

In the Americas, net sales increased by 52% both in euro terms and when expressed in U.S. dollars, taking the figure to €304 million (€200 million). As a result of this significant increase, the share of consolidated net sales generated by the region rose to 13% (9%).

Segments deliver varied sales performance
Net sales in the Banking segment were 2% down on the previous year (€1,532 million) at €1,497 million. The Retail segment generated net sales growth of 3% to reach €742 million (€718 million). Expressed in terms of business streams, in line with the previous year's trend, net sales from the Hardware business declined 7% to €1,140 million (€1,224 million). The share of consolidated net sales attributable to Hardware business receded to 51% (54%), whereas net sales for Software Services ended the year up 7% at €1,099 million (€1,026 million). This took the share of total Group sales attributable to Software/Services to 49% (46%).

R&D Ratio Remains High
The Group's global spending on Research and Development was 2% lower at €101 million (€103 million). The R&D ratio fell 0.1 percentage points to 4.5% (4.6%), thus remaining largely unchanged at the high level recorded a year ago. The international development network now comprises sites in Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Singapore and China.

Headcount slightly decreased
At the end of the reporting year on September 30, 2010, the global headcount was down 72 on the previous year at 9,309 (9,381). In total, the Group's headcount outside Germany rose slightly to 5,203 (5,193). The headcount in Germany was down on the previous year at 4,106 (4,188).

Dividend proposal of €1.70 per qualifying share
Wincor Nixdorf remains committed to pursuing its recent dividend policy: as regards the dividend for fiscal 2009/2010, profit for the period amounting to €106.5m will again form the basis for dividend calculations. Of this amount, approx. 50% is to be distributed to shareholders in the form of a dividend. For the reporting period, this corresponds to a dividend of €1.70 per qualifying share proposed to the Supervisory Board, which is 8% less than the dividend of €1.85 paid out in the preceding year.