Dear Shareholders and Business Partners,

2021 was the first full year for the Group’s newly established Segments and Market Areas operating in their respective fields of business. Designed as part of the CLIMB 21 strategy project and geared towards future markets, this organisational structure combined with an intensified focus on service provision under the KSB SupremeServ brand allowed us to accelerate our value-enhancing growth and achieve excellent annual earnings.

Although the worldwide impact of the coronavirus pandemic continued though 2021, the global economy experienced a slight recovery which was reflected in increased order intake. Overall, the Group has achieved solid business performance despite government-imposed lockdowns, bottlenecks in global supply chains and price increases for raw materials and bought-in components.

I am pleased to report that the 2021 financial year saw us deliver on all promises made and generate substantial value for our stakeholders.

Earnings growth for KSB SE & Co. KGaA

In terms of enhancing the earnings capacity of the parent company KSB SE & Co. KGaA, we have taken a significant step forward. KSB SE & Co. KGaA essentially comprises the Group’s German factories and organisational network. It also provides overarching services for the Group as a whole via the Corporate Functions, whose costs are shared globally with, in particular, taxation aspects being taken into careful consideration. In recent years, overall results indicated that KSB SE & Co. KGaA has been loss making. However, efforts to improve earnings initiated in 2020 have led to a significant reduction in costs over the reporting year and thus to an increase in the earnings capacity of KSB SE & Co. KGaA.

Sustainability remains in focus

We remain committed to pursuing our nine defined sustainability goals. 2021 also saw positive progress along the path to achieving overall sustainability for KSB. All production sites are now certified according to the ISO 14001 environmental standard. The factories in Pattensen near Hanover and Concorezzo near Milan are the Group’s first climate-neutral locations, and all of our Indian sites are now equipped with photovoltaic systems. The switch to green electricity is also continuing apace. Our first pumps from climate-neutral production will soon be available and promise to make an important contribution to meeting the EU’s climate targets. We have summarised all of the measures taken in our Sustainability Magazine, which was published for the first time in 2021.

Progress driven by diversity and cooperation

Diversity is an invaluable asset for international companies. Different employees bring different perspectives, and international teams inject a global dimension into our understanding of the world. We believe in the power of diverse teams including younger and older people with diverse cultural backgrounds and gender orientations. They bring creative, flexible and certainly more multidimensional approaches to their work than homogeneous groups. We offer targeted training for managers and specialist staff to promote diversity. At the same time, we are increasing the proportion of women among our staff and reaping the rewards of a changed discussion and problem-solving culture.

Well-qualified talent

Professional training and development have always been a priority for KSB, as fostering young talent is essential in achieving sustainable success. For years, we have been one of Germany’s leading training companies, and trainees who complete their vocational programmes with KSB consistently feature among the year’s top performers in their respective regions. The high quality of our training has also been recognised by respected studies. In 2021, for example, Focus Money named us the best training company for mechanical engineering in Germany.

A special anniversary year

18 September 2021 marked the start of our anniversary year, as we celebrate KSB’s 150th birthday together and around the world. “People. Passion. Performance.” is the motto of a range of initiatives and events adapted to the requirements of the ongoing pandemic. The associated celebrations will take place in the summer of 2022 at the end of the anniversary year – and we are confident that these will be possible with appropriate hygiene measures.

We are well aware that bottlenecks in global supply chains and price increases will continue to pose challenges in 2022, but remain highly confident of our capacity to continue profitable growth in the new financial year.