International. Carel has announced its consolidated results for the year 2016, in which it indicates that it confirms and improves the positive evolution of the results of the last five years. As of December 31, 2016, the Consolidated Sales of the Carel Group totaled €231 million, an increase of 13.5% compared to the €203.5 million recorded in 2015, with positive trends in all business areas.
"The focus of our innovation remains on improving efficiency and sustainability in the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors," commented Francesco Nalini, Managing Director of the Carel Group. "Our growth in 2016 is the result of the most innovative solutions in these areas, and shows how our R&D efforts are focused in the right direction. We have also seen very positive results from our systems designed for new refrigerants with low environmental impact, especially natural refrigerants. In 2017 we intend to continue investing in all these solutions, with an even greater focus on connectivity, visualizing the added value we can offer our customers through machine learning algorithms."
Export sales for 2016 accounted for 80% of the Group's total: the analysis of earnings by geographical region shows how growth in terms of markets was driven by Europe, with an overall average increase of 19%, as well as a good performance in Asian markets (+8%). The growth recorded in 2016 was also accompanied by an increase in the number of employees in the Group: increasing by 132, bringing the total to 1,222. The increase in employment at the new Carel plant in Croatia, inaugurated in 2016, from 18 to 76 people should be highlighted.
