Zound Industries breaks through the billion barrier – new record year

Zound Industries continues to experience rapid growth, with 2016 being yet another record year for the company reporting an annual turnover of over 1 billion SEK (€105 million).

Zound continues on its fantastic journey, with increased profitability year on year. All of us on the ownership side of the business would like to thank the entire Zound team for their fantastic performance. We have great faith in the future and the current work underway in implementing the decided strategic plan,’ states Tommy Jacobson, Chairman of the Zound Industries Board.

Net sales for the 2016 fiscal year amounted to 1,043 million SEK, equating to a 38% (SEK 285 million) increase over 2015. An operating profit of 19 million SEK was reported for the fiscal year, down from 2015’s 34 million SEK, a direct result of the company’s write-down of the smartphone operations.

Excluding the smartphone operations, Group net sales came in at 1,034 million SEK, an increase of 46% over 2015, with an EBITDA of 104 million SEK (10%). Increased sales were driven by considerable growth in the headphones segment, alongside exceptional growth in speakers. In addition, the company established successful e-commerce operations in North America and China.

‘We continue to grow quicker than the headphones and speakers market itself. This enables us to make several investments, equipping ourselves for the future. We have a fantastic team on board which we have continued to expand throughout the year, and several exciting upcoming product launches,’ CEO Pernilla Ekman states.

The company also continues to actively invest in its innovation hub Zound Labs, a team of creatives under the direction of Zound’s co-founder Konrad Bergström.

‘We have now reached yet another milestone. Zound’s stabile foundation enables us to focus on further innovations, adapting a forward-thinking long-term perspective to our work. Establishing new partnerships and playing a driving role in the present technological transition strengthens our position as a global player,’ Konrad Bergström adds.

The entire annual report will be released later this spring, at the Zound Industries International AB annual shareholder meeting.

About Zound Industries
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Zound Industries designs, develops, produces and sells headphones and speakers under several brand names, including Urbanears and Marshall. The company is represented in over 100 markets, with a leading focus on the Nordic region, the US, France, Germany, the UK and China.