Speciality glass manufacturer Schott closed the fiscal year 2021/22 with solid financial results despite the global crises.

Schott reported that sales increased by 10% to €2.8 billion resulting in an EBIT of €422 million.

CEO Dr Frank Heinricht said: “Customers want a reliable partner who can deliver their needs and continue to invest in growth, which is exactly what Schott is doing.”

Main contributors to the company’s positive results were the pharmaceutical business and components for medical devices (see image above) and microchip manufacturing.

In addition, Schott sees future opportunities with its ultra-thin glass for the astronomy and space industry.

Further investments of €500 million are planned for the current fiscal year.

Schott maintained financial resilience with a net liquidity of €71 million and an equity ratio of 51%, due to its solid growth and investment strategy.

CFO Dr Jens Schulte said: "As a result of the pandemic, strained supply chains and increasing raw material and energy costs pose a major challenge to the industry and our company.

"With efficient measures, we were able to manage the situation; however, we could not avoid facing price increases."

During the last fiscal year, Schott was able to expand its international production network by investing €426 million in additional buildings and equipment, including two additional plants.

The company opened a new plant for polymer syringes in Müllheim, Germany, and another flat glass plant for household appliances in Bolu, Turkey.

Workforce

Last fiscal year, Schott created 700 new jobs, with approximately 17,200 total employees, of which two-thirds worked outside of Germany.

Dr Heinricht said: “A company can only grow if it has a qualified workforce. To tackle the current shortage of skilled workers, we are pursuing innovative recruiting methods, offering attractive working conditions, and refining our work-time models.”

Decarbonisation

Schott is also demonstrating its corporate responsibility with its Climate Neutral 2030 programme, in which the first milestones have been reached.

Since the last fiscal year 2021/2022, Schott switched to using 100% green electricity worldwide and reduced its CO2 emissions by over 60%.

A majority of the emissions are created during the melting process; however, Schott aims to avoid using fossil fuels in the long term to become climate neutral by 2030.

The company also continues to drive technological change with projects enabling the electrification of melting furnaces and the use of hydrogen.