ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2003/2004

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2003/2004 October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004

2 The Company Wincor Nixdorf is one of the world s leading suppliers of IT solutions to the retail and the retail banking industries. Our extensive portfolio of hardware, software, consulting and services is aimed at optimizing the business processes at work within the extensive branch networks of banks and retailers, reducing cost and complexity and improving service to the end customer. We use expertise gained from our core business with banks and retailers to expand into new sectors, including postal service businesses, lottery companies, the hospitality trade and service station operators. 8-year Net Sales History in million 8-year EBITA History in million 2,000 1,500 1, ,052 1,258 1,336 1,338 1,462 1,345 1,440 1, /97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 Presence in over 90 countries More than 6,100 employees worldwide Strong position in Europe: No. 1 in programmable electronic point-of-sale terminals (epos) and No. 2. in automated teller machines (ATMs) World s No. 3 in ATMs and programmable epos systems Fiscal 2003/2004 A Successful Year Net sales up 9%, profit up 12% Market position in Europe improved: moved up to the No. 1 position in epos terminals International business expanded Growth in business with lotteries and postal service providers, new products such as reverse-vending systems successfully added to the portfolio Significant growth in enterprise value

3 Banking Our retail banking proposition includes the entire range of automation and self-service systems such as ATMs, information and transaction terminals and voucher printers. For self-service terminals (SSTs), we supply software solutions that can run on our own SSTs as well as those of other manufacturers. With a view to supporting not only the self-service channel but integrating also other sales channels such as Internet and telephone banking, we have developed ProClassic/Enterprise software for international markets. Retail Wincor Nixdorf supplies retailers with POS systems and associated checkout software, information systems and store automation solutions such as electronic shelf labeling systems, and reverse-vending systems for handling the return of empty bottles and crates. Another key area is the integration of stores into enterprise-wide IT infrastructures. Our focus in this area is on solutions for management and control of the logistics chain (supply and demand) and optimum design of the value chain. Especially abroad, we are expanding our professional service and software activities as well as our retail enterprise business (SAP consulting). Services Wincor Nixdorf offers a comprehensive range of IT services and operational services on a worldwide basis, ensuring the availability of installed systems and extensive customer solutions within retail and banking businesses across the entire product lifecycle. Key Figures Banking 2003/ /2003 Change million million % Net Sales EBITA EBITA Return on Sales (in %) Key Figures Retail 2003/ /2003 Change 80 million million % Net Sales EBITA EBITA Return on Sales (in %) Our Objectives To increase annual net sales by at least 7%, and profit by a minimum of 8% To enhance our competitive position and grow profitability To continue to internationalize the business To grow the solutions and services business as a percentage of total net sales To exploit growth potential in the outsourcing business

4 Key Figures Statement of Income (in million)* 2003/2004 1) 2002/2003 2) Change Net sales 1,576 1, % Gross profit Gross profit as a percentage of net sales Research & development expenses R&D expenses as a percentage of net sales Selling, general and administration expenses** SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales % % % Operating profit (EBIT) Goodwill amortization 3 1 EBITA*** EBITA as a percentage of net sales Depreciation of tangible assets and amortization of licenses EBITDA EBITDA as a percentage of net sales Net profit for the period Net profit for the period as a percentage of net sales Net profit for the period before carve-out Earnings per share ( )**** Cash flow (in million) Cash flow from operating activities Cash flow from investment activities Net Sales by Region 2003/2004 in million 113 7% 184 Net Sales by 12% Region 2003/ % in million 48% Germany 7% Europe 12% 33% Asia-Pacific & Africa Net Americas Sales by Region 2003/ % in million Germany 113 Europe 7% 184 Asia-Pacific & Africa 12% Americas 33% Germany Europe Net Asia-Pacific Sales by Business & Africa Stream 2003/2004 in Americas million % 48% Products 950 Solutions/Services % 60% Net Sales by Business Stream 2003/2004 in million 60% Net Sales by Business Stream 2003/ % 60% in million Products Solutions/Services Key Balance Sheet Figures (in million) Working Capital as a percentage of net sales Sept. 30, 2004 Sept. 30, 2003 Change Net debt Equity Net Sales by Segment 2003/2004 in Products million Solutions/Services Net 930 Sales by Segment 59% 41% 2003/2004 in million 646 Human Resources Number of employees (September, 30) 6,114 4,983 1,131 1) October 1, 2003 September 30, ) October 1, 2002 September 30, 2003 * ) before profit charges arising from carve-out ** ) including other income and expenses as well as investment result *** ) net profit on operating activities before interest, taxes and amortization of goodwill and product know-how **** ) calculated on the basis of million shares Retail Banking % 41% Net Sales by Segment 2003/2004 in million Retail Banking % 41% Retail Banking

5 Contents 02 Foreword 04 Case Study Barclays 08 Strategy 10 Case Study U.S. Postal Service 14 Research & Development 16 Case Study Metro 20 Sustainability 24 Case Study Tesco 28 Wincor Nixdorf Stock 31 Corporate Governance 33 Supervisory Board Report 36 Declaration by the Board of Directors 37 Financial Information 90 Foreign Subsidiaries 92 Glossary 94 Financial Calendar/Imprint Vorwort G

6 Foreword It is my pleasure to present you Wincor Nixdorf s first annual report as a listed company. It is also a very satisfying experience because in it, we are able to report on yet another year in which we were not only successful but also continued to equip ourselves for the future. In what was in areas a difficult market environment, we successfully expanded net sales by 9% to 1,576 million. Both segments banking and retail contributed strongly to this growth. We have made progress in delivering on our goal of internationalizing the business, with 67% of net sales generated abroad. On the profit side, the 12% increase in EBITA to 116 million was even more positive, benefiting above all from the efficiency improvement and cost reduction programs we have been implementing within the business. Without doubt, the highlight of fiscal 2003/2004 was our flotation on the stock market. Wincor Nixdorf shares stimulated keen interest among investors. On May 19, we celebrated a successful debut on the trading floor, and our share price performance since then has also been very pleasing. Since our inclusion in the MDAX index on September 20, 2004, we are now one of the top 50 mid-cap companies traded on the German stock market. Our obligation to shareholders is something we also want to underscore right from the outset in the form of an attractive yield. With this in mind, we are proposing to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting of shareholders that a dividend of 1.21 per share be paid for fiscal 2003/2004. Our IPO demonstrated one thing quite clearly; companies with solid business models and good growth prospects are interesting to investors even during difficult phases in the market. Quite apart from the satisfaction derived from our independent status, which the stock market has positively confirmed, and from the value it has given to our business, we are very aware of the confidence and trust placed in us. Even though we have so much good news to report, we know that business success and your trust are not a coincidence but rather something we have to strive to achieve over and over again. 2 Foreword

7 Our performance and excellent prospects strengthen our conviction that the strategy we have chosen is indeed the right course to pursue. By consistently seeking potential areas of growth, we will continue to grow our core business through innovation and targeted expansion of our offerings for products as well as solutions and services. We will also press ahead with our international expansion and expand our activities into new areas of operation. Winning new customers, including them as partners in a joint effort and holding onto them for the long term are key elements in our Company s success success that we don t just quantify in monetary terms. Of course, we want to grow and win market share. What company doesn t? The difference is, our understanding of market leadership goes well beyond measurable indicators. We strive to be the company with the highest level of customer focus in the entire circle of companies supplying IT services and solutions for the branch and store operations of banks and retailers. As a result, we must operate quickly and entrepreneurially at all levels, and give as much decision-making freedom as possible to our employees who are daily in direct contact with our customers. We cultivate a company culture characterized by flat hierarchies, flexibility and autonomous responsibility. Another example of our customer focus is that we strive, together with our customers, to continuously develop process improving solutions for their business. In our annual report, we highlight several projects that show how far we have come along this road. We are more aware than ever before that only through our employees can we bring true customer focus to life. Working internally with them, we tackle the challenges presented by changing market conditions, with a view to achieving continuous increases in efficiency and profitability. Our goal is to continue to be within the group of world leaders in our market the one that creates an exceptionally high level of value and satisfaction among customers, employees and shareholders. As far as the short term is concerned, growth forecasts for the coming fiscal year give reason for optimism. We expect to see stable demand in both our market segments and are confident of achieving growth in net sales of at least 7% in fiscal 2004/2005. We will also continue to work relentlessly on optimizing profitability. With this in mind, we are targeting a significant growth in profit on operating activities of at least 8%. Finally, my sincere thanks go to all stakeholders employees, shareholders and business partners who, though their hard work, commitment and trust, have contributed to Wincor Nixdorf s performance and development. We will do all we can to continue to deliver on this trust. Sincerely, Karl-Heinz Stiller Foreword 3

8 BARCLAYS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY Our customers are under continuous pressure to operate efficiently. We target our core competencies where those of our customers end. This approach benefits everyone: our customers who are able to free up resources for their core business; and their customers who are able to enjoy services of the highest quality.

9 Barclays and Wincor Nixdorf: An example of a comprehensive partnership >>

10 BARCLAYS Shared Work for More Service The cooperation between Barclays Bank in the U.K. and Wincor Nixdorf shows the future of banking at work today. It focuses on the essentials: the customer. There are certain words that cause some people to shift uncomfortably in their seats. Automation, for example. Or outsourcing. A lot of people would still say these are all about reducing costs without regard for people. When it comes to prejudices, there s only one antidote reality. In the county of Kent in southeast England lies the town of Dartford, where they ve been proving since spring 2004 that automation and outsourcing don t just offer the benefits you d expect (in terms of costs) but are also a boon for people customers and staff alike. Here, the Wincor Nixdorf United Kingdom Customer Care Center is involved in one of the most ambitious banking projects there is. Wincor Nixdorf has taken complete responsibility under a five-year agreement for running and maintaining the 3,900 U.K. automated teller machines (ATMs) owned by Barclays and its subsidiary, The Woolwich. Barclays is one of the world s leading banks, successful and highly respected. Barclays aims to create shareholder value by putting the customer at the center of everything it does. In order to focus on the customer people it is necessary to concentrate on the essentials. In Dartford, Wincor Nixdorf s British team is making sure they can do just that. This is where all the threads come together, with a helpdesk organizing and managing Barclays self-service network, thus releasing capacity where it is needed now and in the future for providing personalized advice and guidance to customers. The aim of the collaboration is to reduce costs and achieve a significant boost to the availability of Barclays self-service terminals, thereby enhancing our customer s ability to concentrate on its core competence namely banking, says Wincor Nixdorf Director of the U.K. Banking Division, John Ennis. It s a partnership that points the way forward for an industry which has come under increasing cost pressure right across the world, and especially in Europe. Ennis knows only too well: The Barclays example shows clearly where the benefits of outsourcing lie. Outsourcing is very much a growing trend in the market a real opportunity for banks to concentrate on their true offerings and, hence, on their core business.»i am delighted we have continued to develop this strategic partnership between Barclays and Wincor Nixdorf and reached this significant milestone. The new center will help us deliver the best possible service for our ATM Network and going forward our kiosk devices.«jim McGarrigan, Barclays Service Delivery Manager Self Service & Online 6

11 If one compares the organizational structure of banks with those of industrial manufacturers the automotive industry, for example it becomes clear how great the future potential is of outsourcing, automation and reliable partnerships. A typical automobile producer concentrates on the development, design and final manufacture of a product, 80 percent of whose components and technologies on average come from supply chain partners. As hitherto, banks are still doing around percent of their value-add in-house. Wincor Nixdorf can help reduce the time-sapping processes still hindering this transition, says Stefan Auerbach, Senior Vice President Services at Wincor Nixdorf. I am delighted we have continued to develop this strategic partnership between Barclays and Wincor Nixdorf and reached this significant milestone. The new center will help us deliver the best possible service for our ATM network and going forward our kiosk devices, says Jim McGarrigan, Barclays Service Delivery Manager Self Service & Online. And so, the reality is anything other than unpleasant. It shows what the future of banking can look like. More competitive power through technology resulting in the ability to concentrate on what really matters: the customer. The Wincor Nixdorf team in Dartford, Kent, is able to meet complex requirements, and Customer Care Center staff form the very nerve center of this successful partnership. Our technicians are able to break any ATM down to its component parts and put them all back together again blindfold, contends Operations Manager Dan Gilby proudly. The first and second-line staff on the helpdesk have expertise ready to be utilized it s not just the technology that they know inside out, every one of them is fully acquainted with everyday processes and procedures within bank branches. They speak their customer s language to perfection and understand their problems. And there are 65 service technicians deployed across the entire Barclays U.K. branch network for those times when problems can t be solved over the network alone and quite irrespective of whether the terminal is from Wincor Nixdorf or another manufacturer. In its partnership with Barclays, Wincor Nixdorf also manages the cash in transit for remote ATMs. Everything is done to ensure the partner has all the space it needs to conquer its areas of core competence. Customer Barclays Bank Established 1736 Market Position One of the world s 10 largest banks Areas of Business Banking, investment banking, investment management Locations In over 60 countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia and Africa Employees 76,200 Operating Income (2003) 12.4 billion 7

12 Goal-oriented Action Since our independence in 1999 and the creation of our own international Group organization, we have developed into one of the world s leading suppliers of hardware and software solutions and associated services aimed at optimizing store and branch processes in retail and retail banking. Our core focus is to optimize consumer-facing processes, particularly for businesses with extensive branch outlet structures. We provide an extensive portfolio of automation and self-service products, point-of-sale hardware and associated software as well as consulting and other services. Our solutions help customers improve their service to end-users and reduce their branch and store costs. Our Strategy for Continued Profitable Growth is Characterized by these Objectives: Expansion of the Core Business and Core Competencies Products: Use and expansion of expertise in the areas of self-service, cash and non-cash systems, automation and point-of-sale systems Solutions and services: Maximize business potential with existing customers Address new service customers (multivendor) Focus on higher quality solutions and services Worldwide Business Expansion Strengthening and expanding leading position in Europe Continuing global expansion Tapping New Growth Potential Transferring core competencies to businesses with strong branch outlet structures similar to retail and banking, such post offices, lotteries, hotels and hospitality and service stations New business areas in our core retail and banking markets, such as outsourcing Expansion of the Core Business and Core Competencies Products With our hardware offering, which focuses on automation and self-service systems, we have successfully gained market share over the years, based on shipments of automated teller machines (ATMs) and programmable electronic point-of-sale (epos) systems. By focusing our development efforts closely on customers needs and concentrating on our core competencies such as mechatronics, we have secured ourselves an excellent position in the areas of technology and innovation. We are countering fierce competition with products that we continue to develop and manufacture with the most modern techniques. To benefit above average from the stable market growth for our products, we are striving to expand our offerings still further and continue to be the most important point of contact for our customers regarding new technologies for automation and self-service systems. 8 Strategy

13 Solutions and Services Our strength lies in our ability to combine hardware with software and services in a way that allows us to provide integrated total solutions for optimizing processes. We are experts in integrating these IT-based process innovations into existing IT environments. Our service-led areas of business include implementation-related consulting services, software for branch and store applications and integration software as well as hardware maintenance services covering the entire life-cycle. We have successfully expanded these areas of business, which we call solutions and services, to around 40% of net sales and expect increasing demand for both in the future, leading to further growth opportunities. Worldwide Business Expansion We have steadily transformed ourselves from an equipment manufacturer focused on the German market into an international provider of total solutions. The goal of our international expansion is to offer existing customers products and services on a worldwide basis and to work with them as they expand into new markets. At the same time, we aim to win new customers both regionally and locally. As part of our Road to the Top program, which concentrates on key countries, we have defined specific measures in those countries of strategic importance to us worldwide. One of our objectives is to further extend our market position in Europe. We see further opportunities for growth in Eastern Europe, Asia, the U.S. and Latin America. In Eastern Europe, we have achieved, together with our local sales partners, substantial success, which forms the foundation for further expansion in these regions. We aim to expand our position still further in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, where we are represented by both in-house resources and also in the banking business by IBM as a partner. Tapping New Growth Potential By applying new technologies and driving our innovation forward, we aim to expand our existing business still further and tap new potential. We are already operating successfully in several areas, including hotels and hospitality, service stations, lotteries and postal service businesses. We also plan to use our expertise and existing product base in the banking and retail businesses to achieve further growth in these new areas and boost their contributions to net sales. In this way, we intend to achieve greater economies of scale. Moreover, we aim to expand our business activities by moving into new areas. Growth opportunities exist particularly in the area of outsourcing services, which include the operation and maintenance of extensive ATM networks and the entire IT branch infrastructures of banks. Our comprehensive outsourcing offer for the store and branch business includes facility and IT estate management, operation of self-service systems and management of data centers and networks. Strategy 9

14 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE WHAT CUSTOMERS DEMAND: SIMPLICITY Many customers come to us with a clearly defined goal: making their services available in the best possible way. Developing the right product for this service is only the first step. Determining its availability in daily use is another. For this reason, we are very ambitious about developing solutions that our customers can largely maintain themselves and are easy to use for consumers.

15 U.S. Postal Serivce, IBM and Wincor Nixdorf: An example of an innovative partnership. >>

16 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE Because the World Never Stands Still The United States Postal Service is changing dramatically with a key role being played by the Automated Postal Center of IBM and Wincor Nixdorf. Logistics is the art of making anything possible anytime. It sounds quite simple in theory, but in practice it might be a matter of doing something like this: delivering 202 billion letters and parcels every year on time across the world, employing over 700,000 people driving 213,585 delivery vehicles doing a total of over 1.8 billion kilometers a year. With over seven million customers a day crossing the threshold of around 38,000 post offices. Now that s logistics! Welcome to the world of USPS the United States Postal Service. The USPS guiding principles contain a loaded phrase: Universal Access Universal Service. Universal in terms of worldwide, but also in terms of omnipresent and anytime. Since 2001 the business, which last year made revenues of $ 68.5 billion, has been in the throes of an ambitious restructuring plan that goes under the name of Transformation Plan and aims to improve the efficiency of the business still further over the next few years. At the heart of the restructuring, which is intended to save a total of $ 6.5 billion by 2006, is improving customer satisfaction while, at the same time, reducing transaction costs. The plan specifically includes self-service in the USPS branches as a key factor along this route. Each year, around 450 million postage stamps are sold across post office counters, making up 31 percent of all USPS transactions and making this one of the highest-cost sales channels. USPS was faced with the challenge of being able to move simple tasks such as weighing, measuring and franking of letters and parcels across to the customer, reducing the workload for counter staff and lowering the cost of issuing postage stamps. Behind the solution to this problem are two partners: in May 2003, Wincor Nixdorf was asked by IBM to equip post offices across the U.S. with Automated Postal Centers (APCs) in collaboration with IBM. The first APC went into operation in April 2004 in Dallas, and a total of 2,500 self-service units were installed by November At the heart of the APC is a Wincor Nixdorf ProCash 1500 an ATM, albeit one with a few bells and whistles for post office customers.»one of the objectives of the Transformation Plan, the Postal Service s blueprint for the future, is to achieve customer satisfaction at the retail window while, at the same time, reduce processing costs. Working as a team with IBM, Wincor Nixdorf delivered a workable solution for this complex task.«william P. Galligan, Vice President Delivery and Retail, USPS 12

17 A pair of scales and a printer are built into the sidecar developed by IBM and fixed to the side of the terminal, allowing letters and parcels to be weighed by the customer. The dispatch options are selected via the APC terminal Express, Priority, First Class. Using the customer s input, weight-related postage costs are calculated to the cent, the relevant value printed out together with a barcode and issued through the cash slot. Whole sheets of stamps of the size of a U.S. dollar bill each containing 18 stamps are issued from a tray located inside the cash machine. If required, the service-minded APC will even look up the zip code (post code). Payment is by credit card or debit card. Customers can place their parcels securely in a drop box provided by USPS. One limitation: parcels can not weigh more than 70 pounds (around 30 kilograms). What about customer acceptance? In American post offices it s just like any other post office: long lines form in front of the counters, with people waiting with parcels and when they ve had to experience that, then a fast, practical and easy-to-use self-service system is just brilliant. No one wants to go back to standing in line, says Achim von Bremen, Head of the Post Competence Center at Wincor Nixdorf. with disabilities to use them with no problem at all. The system has an easy access keyboard and the ability to plug in a headset, whereupon the machine moves into voice-control mode. The introduction of new technology never should disadvantage people with disabilities. The APC team, however, had to meet one further requirement: all main basic components of the APC had to be able to be maintained and swapped out by USPS counter staff. Wincor Nixdorf managed this, too. For example, USPS people are able to exchange the printer for receipts without tools. The same goes for other components. The APC tells trained USPS staff by pager when operator intervention is required and when more stamps are needed. For Jeff Kalinoski, Vice President Banking Wincor Nixdorf in the U.S., the success of the APCs is a key step forward for the USPS: The machine is self-explanatory, it s really simple and clear, and it just matches the customer needs. In the U.S., you can shop 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and now you can also post letters and parcels whenever you want. The APC reduces waiting time, saves nerves and is extremely friendly to its users. Even in the rollout phase, which started in April 2004, the self-service system was awarded the coveted Best Retail Kiosk Application Award 2004 by the KIOSK magazine with the score of 98 percentage customer satisfaction. We ve done a lot to turn USPS high technical expectations of a selfservice system into reality, says Javier Lopez-Bartolome, Senior Vice President Banking at Wincor Nixdorf. Our APCs also allow people Customer U.S. Postal Service Established 1775 Market Position Largest postal service company in the world, based on mail volume Areas of Business Correspondence and transactions, business advertising, expedited delivery, publications delivery, standard package delivery, international mail Locations 37,579 post offices across the United States Employees 700,000 Net Sales (2003) $ 68.5 billion 13

18 Innovative Thinking Our success is primarily based on our innovative strength and modular, solution-led approach. We offer hardware, software and services including IT outsourcing for the branch and store businesses of banks and retailers all tailored to meet their precise needs and requirements. We benefit from an in-depth understanding of their processes, resulting from nearly 50 years of experience in dealing with customers in the retail and banking sectors. Today, both customer groups face fundamental changes in their markets; globalization, fierce competition, margin attrition and the onward march of technology create new challenges. As a result, we must continuously improve processes and structures at the consumer interface. Opportunities presented by information technology are changing business processes in logistics, sales and marketing, and service. Within an extremely short period of time, new sales models, well-mapped consumer profiles and a fundamental reshaping of the competitive landscape have emerged, leading to evermore complex IT demands and calls for more specific, individual solutions. The need to support electronic sales channels efficiently and have sustainable customer loyalty systems have become decisive success factors for our customers. Their goal is clear: providing greater service and benefits to consumers while reducing operating costs. In the future, the branch outlet will remain the most important basis for business in retail and retail-banking alike. At the same time, electronic sales channels have proven to be a logical complement to conventional sales and communication channels. Consequently, the foreseeable way forward in multichannel sales is not a matter of choose one but rather of choose both. The key to success lies in how the various channels to market are integrated as part of a common solution. Equally important is a clear, interconnected channel strategy to achieve As part of our IT outsourcing strategy for the branch and store business, we optimize costs and processes for our customers and take entrepreneurial responsibility for the entire IT value chain from self-service terminals to data centers. We define the depth and scope as part of the project management process together with our customers. The more complex these tasks are, the more important it is to support them with competent analysis and consulting activities in advance. This process requires a single partner who holds all the strings and is able to act as prime contractor, pulling together all the internal and external members of an IT project. Wincor Nixdorf is such a partner. We give our customers access to the latest technologies, using these to develop sophisticated new solutions that we integrate seamlessly into their system environments. We provide these solutions with maximum availability and at a modest cost. Our goal: to ensure that in a fast-moving environment, our customers are equipped to master the challenges of their individual markets from a position of strength. Without unceasing research and development work, we cannot help them achieve this goal. We concentrate on applying available new technologies to develop our own products and integrate these into solutions that improve our customers processes. This challenge is tackled everyday by more than 600 employees at our R&D sites in Paderborn, Frankfurt, Leipzig, 14 Resaerch & Development

19 Berlin, Singapore, Jakarta and Boston. Our core competencies in product development are in the fields of mechatronics, embedded software, platform software and application software as well as image recognition. Moreover, we generate valuable know-how from the fundamental research of technology leaders with whom we form select technology partnerships in our product areas. Close collaboration with public-sector research institutes also gives us the ability to integrate new developments and innovations into new product ideas at an early stage and engage in research close to the market. Examples of successful research collaborations include our work with the Fraunhofer Institute in banking and the Ilmenau University of Applied Sciences in retail. The Fraunhofer Institute is collaborating with us to develop security technology and new methods of preventing system manipulation. Together with the Ilmenau University of Applied Sciences, we are researching new algorithms and detection methodologies in the field of image recognition and integrating these into our products. Our research and development activities are conducted separately for each of the retail and banking segments in order to ensure optimum vertical industry focus. That said, we make a concerted effort to network the two R&D strands in order to use the findings of each in cross-industry applications as well. We have bundled all our research and development activities as part of our Group-wide drive to reduce production costs and benchmarked these against best of breed standards. This approach enables us to help our suppliers make their processes more transparent and achieve savings effects. Traditionally, our customers have closely been integrated in the innovation process. We undertake key strategic developments together with key customers. They give us important feedback from the market and contribute to product specification improvements with their constructive criticism and ideas. Following on from this, product innovations are manufactured and sold in volume. On the banking side, cash recycling and cash management are good examples of close collaboration with key customers. In our retail activities, the self-checkout product is entirely geared to one key customer, reflecting the immediacy and customer-led philosophy of our product development work. In extending our service offering, we are guided by the principles of reducing the cost of our products across the entire life cycle and supplying high-quality, high-reliability systems that are easy to maintain. Our open-system approach and observance of global standards make our solutions not only reliable and transparent, but also secure the investments of our customers. In the future, we expect this philosophy to continue providing us with a key competitive edge for opening up new markets and also to ensure competitive prices of our solutions within established markets. Resaerch & Development 15

20 METRO REMAINING SUCCESSFUL IN A WORLD OF CHANGE Continuous change is the only thing that remains the same in today s business world. Successful businesses are those that are able to anticipate change at an early stage and confront it with reliable solutions. This challenge requires various competencies, from both a technological and business perspective. We are fully committed to mastering this challenge by collaborating with our customers to develop future scenarios and reliable solutions.