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- Bosch expanded its presence in the GCC countries
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, ended its 2021 fiscal year with 1.72 billion AED (393.9 million euros) in consolidated sales across the Middle East, thus registering strong growth of 17 percent compared to the previous year. Commenting on the results, Per Johansson, General Manager of Bosch Middle East said, "2021 was a special year for us, with many major milestones paving the road to achieving our growth last year. Being in the region for several decades now, Bosch is turning challenges into opportunities by developing technology that is “Invented for life”, and in turn, improving the quality of life for people across a number of markets. As we continue to expand our regional presence and provide consumers with value through best-in-class solutions and advanced features, we are sure that this positive trend will continue through 2022." The number of associates employed at Bosch across the Middle East stood at 183 as of December 31, 2021.
Overcoming challenges and leveraging opportunities
In 2021, Bosch's Automotive Aftermarket business division registered significant growth in the Middle East. Bosch's ability to fill voids in the after sales market, following logistic challenges faced by automotive spare-parts companies, enabled the Mobility Solutions’ Automotive Aftermarket division at Bosch to perform successfully during the year. Furthermore, despite global supply issues, Bosch's Power Tools business division outperformed the market, with robust double-digit growth in the region, compared to the previous year.
Moreover, Bosch´s Building Technologies division also grew by double digits in the Middle East in 2021, attributing its success to a rebound in almost all countries that Bosch is operating in across the region. This was further supported by the division´s focus on several key industries including governmental, transportation, hospitality, finance, and banking.
The Thermotechnology division, part of Bosch’s Energy and Building Technology business sector additionally registered remarkable expansion in the Middle East during the prior year Consequently, Bosch strengthened its foothold in Jordan by participating in key projects across diverse sectors including pharmaceutical, hospitality, construction, residential, commercial, food, education, textile, and packaging, ensuring sustainable growth despite market volatility.
Bosch Middle East: Outlook for 2022
Despite the dynamic economic uncertainties such as the war in Ukraine and its implications across the globe, Bosch has been striving to build on its legacy in the Middle East and plans to continue its growth in 2022. Over the last two years, markets across the region and its industries have faced unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, which have been compounded by supply chain disruptions and, most recently, a global semiconductor shortage, all of which have had a cascading effect on the automotive and technology industries, among others. As the demand for increased connectivity in technology grows, Bosch continuous to serve the society with its innovative solutions that are cleaner, greener, and more connected than ever before.
By utilizing exponential technologies, GCC countries are progressively emphasizing the importance of digital in accelerating economic diversification and promoting sustainability. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things are enabling long-term reforms and supporting the national agendas of key markets within the region. Each step toward digitalization undertaken across organizations contribute to the public sector's maturity in delivering sustainable public service growth in line with the fourth industrial revolution.
Bosch Group: outlook for 2022 and strategic course
In 2021, Bosch achieved significant growth in sales and result despite a difficult environment. In the first quarter of 2022, the sales revenue of the supplier of technology and services rose 5.2 percent. For the year as a whole, Bosch expects sales to grow more than 6 percent, and to achieve an EBIT margin in the range of 3 to 4 percent – and this despite the likelihood of considerable burdens, especially due to rising costs for energy, raw materials, and logistics. “The successful outcome of the 2021 business year bolsters our confidence as we tackle the challenging environment of the current year,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. One of the considerable uncertainties is the war in Ukraine and all its implications. In his view, the current situation highlights the pressure on policymakers and society to become less dependent on fossil fuels and to vigorously pursue the development of new sources of energy. For this reason, he said, the Bosch Group is systematically continuing its efforts to mitigate global warming, despite the challenging economic environment. In addition, Hartung announced Bosch will be investing some three billion euros over three years in climate-neutral technology such as electrification and hydrogen.
He believes electrification is the fastest route to climate neutrality, provided it is based on green electricity. That is why Bosch is driving sustainable mobility forward: in 2021, the company’s orders relating to electromobility exceeded ten billion euros for the first time.
But Hartung also stressed that hydrogen is needed as well. “Industrial policy should focus on making all sectors of the economy hydrogen-ready,” he said. In the interest of effective climate action, Bosch is also entering the components business for hydrogen electrolysis. The company plans to invest nearly 500 million euros in this new area of business by the end of the decade, half of it by the time of market launch, which is planned for 2025. At the same time, the Bosch chairman announced that, over the next three years, the company will be investing another ten billion euros in digitally transforming its business. “Digitalization also has a special role to play in sustainability – and our solutions start from this premise,” Hartung said. This year alone, moreover, Bosch plans to take on 10,000 new software engineers worldwide.
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Contact persons for press inquiries:
| Ronak Thakkar Account Director FleishmanHillard Ronak.Thakkar@fleishman.com | Arbay Doruk Ali |
About Bosch Middle East
Robert Bosch Middle East FZE is a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, which has been operating in the Middle East for several decades. Robert Bosch Middle East is a supplier of technology services across Automotive Aftermarket, Power Tools, Thermotechnology, Building Technologies & Security Systems, Engineering and Business Solutions, Drive & Control Technology, and Household Appliances business units within the Middle East region. With a total workforce of some 183 associates, the company registered revenues of more than AED 1.7 billion during the year 2021 across 14 markets in the Middle East region.
Additional information is available online at www.bosch-middleeast.com
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 402,600 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2021). The company generated sales of 78.7 billion euros in 2021. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. With its more than 400 locations worldwide, the Bosch Group has been carbon neutral since the first quarter of 2020. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 128 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 76,100 associates in research and development, of which more than 38,000 are software engineers.
Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com, http://www.twitter.com/BoschPresse
