A solid fiscal year for Rohde & Schwarz thanks to innovative strength and even greater customer focus

Rohde & Schwarz can look back on a solid fiscal year 2015/2016. Revenue exceeded the previous year’s result by 5.2 percent. Thanks to its advanced technologies, trailblazing products and even stronger focus on customer needs, the electronics group was able to maintain its leading market position. Rohde & Schwarz also successfully tapped into new growth areas with its security scanner and a counter-drone system.

In the fiscal year 2015/16 (July to June), Rohde & Schwarz generated revenue of around EUR 1.92 billion. The number of employees rose slightly from 9,900 to 10,000 on June 30, 2016.

In the past fiscal year, Rohde & Schwarz focused even more on the diverse requirements of its customers. One key market that the group is addressing with its test and measurement equipment is the wireless market. The largest contributor to the group’s positive results was again mobile communications T&M, despite a market environment that remained subdued. Fifth generation mobile communications (5G) and the Internet of Things (IoT) provided new impetus, and Rohde & Schwarz is playing an active role in the development of these two future technologies.

All in all, test and measurement grew slightly compare with the previous year, in part bolstered by the further expansion of the company’s wide-base market activities and an even broader oscilloscope portfolio. The automotive business field reported above-average growth. Increasing vehicle networking and electromobility are creating greater demand for test and measurement solutions in the automotive industry. Like the T&M market as a whole, the aerospace and defense market was stable.

In the broadcast and media business field, Rohde & Schwarz has established itself as a solution provider for the entire value chain, from post production in the studio to transmission of the broadcast signal. A complete product line is available for high-resolution standards such as 4K and the brand-new HDR standard. The group’s encoding and multiplexing solutions, in particular, are used for test operations and initial UHD TV services. In Germany, Rohde & Schwarz achieved a breakthrough in this fiercely contested market in the past fiscal year. The German public broadcaster ZDF chose the R&S AVHE100 headend for the introduction of the new high efficiency video coding standard (HEVC). Rohde & Schwarz has even succeeded in selling a complete product range to pay TV provider Sky. Sky is using the group’s solutions to process the signals for the new UHD TV programs, from ingest to playout to the headend.

Its state-of-the-art digital transmitters allowed Rohde & Schwarz to defend its global market leadership. The transition to the higher-performance DVB-T2 standard is having a positive impact on business, particularly on the European market. In addition, the frequencies traditionally used for broadcast applications will be maintained until at least 2030 and will not be reassigned to wireless communications. This decision provided the necessary degree of investment protection for transmitter customers across the globe.

Safeguarding communications and data is a key prerequisite for digital transformation. Rohde & Schwarz has responded to this trend by stepping up its investments in cybersecurity solutions. The electronics group has included this market of the future in its strategic focus and can draw on expertise from various business fields. Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecuritywas founded to combine the activities of the group’s IT and network security subsidiaries. This allows Rohde & Schwarz to offer single-source cybersecurity solutions to industry and government authorities. The portfolio focuses on highly secure encryption solutions, next generation firewalls, endpoint security solutions and network analytics software.

New products for protecting critical infrastructures underscore the innovative strength of Rohde & Schwarz. In the past fiscal year, the group successfully launched its security scanner, with the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior signing a framework agreement for 300 R&S QPS200 security scanners. Further orders have already been received from all around the globe. The security scanner uses millimeterwave technology that Rohde & Schwarz optimized based on its many years of experience in high-frequency engineering in the microwave range.

The new R&S ARDRONIS radiomonitoring solution also protects critical infrastructures. It allows users to detect and locate drone control signals early on and even stop the illegal use of drones if necessary. The group deployed R&S ARDRONIS technology in June 2015 at the G7 summit held at Elmau Castle. When the US President visited the Hanover Trade Fair in April 2016, R&S ARDRONIS protected the area surrounding Herrenhausen Castle from unauthorized drones.

Rohde & Schwarz has also won several important reference orders for its R&S SDTR tactical communications systemsand successfully completed development work for a key project, the joint radio system of the German Armed Forces (SVFuA).

Rohde & Schwarz is well positioned for the future with its broad product range and its even stronger focus on customer needs. The group has created the necessary internal structures and laid the foundation for continued profitable growth. In fiscal year 2016/17, Rohde & Schwarz expects to be able to defend its strong position in its traditional markets. Based on its initial success, the group is also confident that it will be able to further expand its new business fields.