Nabaltec_E_GB2016 - Financial report

T R O P E R T N E M E G A N A M D E T A D I L O S N O C DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE/ FINANCIAL REPORT 33 In the course of development work, a new product family was developed in 2014. As a result of market feedback and our aim to continuously work on new products and to optimize and adapt existing products, the product portfolio for this product line was successfully expanded in 2016. With regard to the patented NABACAST® product group, further products have been devel- oped and presented to customers. In the course of ongoing development work, new potential applications have come to light which led to the development of additional products within the product group. In very close cooperation with our customers, specific developments were again carried out for our customers in the area of the GRANALOX® product range. As a result of that intensive cooperation, a variety of product variants adapted to customer requirements were developed and successfully delivered. 2. FINANCIAL REPORT 2.1 MACROECONOMIC AND INDUSTRY-RELATED CONDITIONS 2.1.1 MACROECONOMIC SITUATION Global economic growth was modest in 2016, on the whole, although the pace of growth picked up somewhat after mid-year. According to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), the global economy expanded at a rate of 3.1% in 2016. Production growth accelerated in the summer, particularly in the industrialized economies. US production in- creased noticeably in the third quarter of 2016 and US gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.8 percent for the quarter. Global production was up 3.1% in 2016 The modest economic expansion in the Euro zone in 2016 came in spite of a slightly negative contribution from foreign trade. On the whole, IfW estimates European GDP growth at 1.7% in its January 2017 report, down from 1.9% in 2015. Economic growth in the Euro zone was broad-based from a regional perspective, as all countries in the zone reported growth in 2016. Expansive monetary policies, increasing fiscal stimulus measures and a gradual acceleration in wage growth are continuing to have an impact on the economy in industrialized countries. In emerging economies as well, the overall situation improved: for example, the Chinese econo- my expanded at a much faster rate in the summer and the pace of decline in Russian produc- tion slowed down noticeably. In 2016 as well, the economic situation in Germany was characterized by solid and steady economic growth. The inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 was up 1.9% from the year before, according to preliminary estimates from the Federal Statistical Office. GDP growth in the previous two years was in a similar range: 1.7% in 2015 and 1.6% in 2014. German GDP growth in 2016 exceeded the ten-year average (+1.4%) by half a percent. The “World Economic Outlook,” issued in January by the International Monetary Fund, estimates German GDP growth at 1.7%. German economy characterized by solid and steady growth in 2016 As was the case in the year before, the key growth driver for the German economy in 2016 was domestic consumption, which was up 2.5%. This was in addition to 3.1% growth in Annual Report 2016 | Nabaltec AG ||||

Seitenübersicht