Outlook

We expect the price developments for some key product categories to be less favorable in 2019. In addition, economic growth in Europe seems to slow down. As a result we expect growth in the Industry segments to be less than in previous years. The impact of Brexit is unclear. Given the relative size of our United Kingdom operations, we expect the impact on our Group to be limited. Although activity levels in the global Energy segments are not back to the past peak levels, our order book – especially outside Europe – is high. Notably in North America and Asia, project activity is on the rise. We expect that this higher activity will offset the loss of opportunity in some other export markets.

We continue to focus on operational excellence and efficiency. With the further roll-out of our SAP S/4 HANA ERP platform and digitization, we will continue to invest in innovation, operational excellence and our customer connection. Our strategic global presence has been further strengthened with the acquisition in Germany, which is expected to further contribute to our results.

We are positive about the future of our company. Our financial position remains strong and we do not expect significant changes in our financing or personnel. As a leading specialist, we continue to strive for excellence and quality. Our global network has been further expanded and we continue to invest in innovation and efficiency in our operations. We focus on innovative storage and material handling solutions and on constantly improving and strengthening the relationship with our customers. Digital solutions