AUGSBURG (dpa-AFX) - After strong growth last year, robot manufacturer Kuka expects only a slight increase in 2024, with incoming orders falling. Uncertainties and a weak economy are weighing on the economy, "which is also affecting Kuka and customer demand," the company announced in Augsburg on Thursday.

"Despite the slow start, we are cautiously optimistic about this year and expect slight growth," said CEO Peter Mohnen. Automation and robotics are pillars of industrial production and indispensable in high-wage countries. Accordingly, the automation market has become extremely competitive.

Last year, turnover rose by four percent to 4.05 billion euros, while earnings before interest and taxes climbed by 34 percent to 158 million euros. However, incoming orders fell by 10 percent to 4.0 billion. Kuka employs around 3,750 people in Augsburg and 15,000 worldwide. The largest single market is the USA with a turnover of almost one billion euros.

The small plant engineering division has been doing badly for years. Kuka will not announce how the division is to become profitable again until negotiations with IG Metall and the works council on restructuring the Kuka Systems division have been concluded. If jobs are lost, employees will be kept on in other areas if possible

Focusing on constant change and agility and recognizing trends early on is a top priority, said Mohnen. This ranges from robot programming with artificial intelligence to mobile autonomous assistants and flexibly deployable robots that can grip unknown components better thanks to AI. The driver of autonomous mobile robotics is the shortage of skilled workers in logistics. In three years, Kuka wants to be one of the top 5 manufacturers of autonomous mobile robots./rol/DP/nas