Business Situation of the German Dental Industry

The German Domestic Market
The German healthcare industry is varied with great growth potential. It currently employs more than 4.6 million people in 800 healthcare professions. The healthcare industry, with its first and second healthcare market, will be a strong driving force within the German economy in the years to come. According to the Federal Statistical Office’s latest information (DESTATIS, May 2008) the healthcare industry’s annual turnover for 2006 totaled 245 billion Euros. This represents an increase of 5.7 billion Euros or 2.4% from the previous year. Health expenditure thus reaches 10.6% of the gross domestic product or 2970 Euro per capita (2005: 2.900 Euros).

Healthcare’s largest supporting organization is compulsory health insurance with 139.8 billion Euros expenditure in 2006. Private households and private organizations without financial reward totaled 33.3 billion Euros in health expenditure whilst private health insurance paid 22.5 billion Euros for healthcare. Outpatient healthcare organizations have always played an important role in Germany. Almost half the total expenditure for 2006 was accounted for by these organizations (118.6 billion Euros or 48.4%). Looking at this volume of spending, the most significant outpatient organizations were medical practices (36.4 billion Euros), pharmacies (34.7 billion Euros), and dental practices (15.8 billion Euros). The current number of employees in the dental market, that is, in dental practices, dental laboratories, dental depots, and the dental industry, totals at least 300,000 workers.

The German Dental Industry in Figures
In 2007, the German Dental Industry Association’s 200 members employed both at home and abroad almost 17,900 workers. This is an increase since 2006 of 2.5%. The increase is mainly because of the development in overseas production – an increase of almost 4.5% was seen here. Member companies of VDDI achieved total revenues for 2007 of almost 3.8 billion Euros. This is a growth of 7.4% compared with 2006. More than 2.1 billion Euros were earned on international markets, an increase of 9%.

Members’ expectations for export business in the current year 2008 are similarly positive: 73% of all VDDI members predict an increase in sales; almost a quarter expect sales comparable to the previous year. Only 3% of the members predict a decrease in export sales for 2008. The results from 2007 prove the export strength trend will further stabilize the industry and could even be expanded. Domestic sales increased by 1.6 billion Euros, an increase of 5% compared with 2006. The domestic market, so important to VDDI, has by no means dropped in significance. On the contrary: The remaining perceptible decline in domestic sales resulting from the 2005 Healthcare Reform were partially made up for last year.  

The German dental industry’s expectations for domestic sales in 2008 are mostly optimistic and two-thirds of all members polled predict an increase in sales. 35% of all companies asked assume they will be able to at least equal the previous year’s sales figures for Germany this year. In light of the overall good signals received from the economy in general, confidence is appropriate. The unemployment figures continue to fall, consumer sentiment is since troubled but still the German economy remains on a moderate course of growth. This predominantly favourable prevailing mood leads to the conclusion that Dental Industry sales will develop positively. Facts & Figures

¹⁾ incl. Revenues from owned foreign production
_{Source: Certified Revenue Survey by the VDDI of its members} IDS takes place in Cologne every two years and is organized by the GFDI Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Dental-Industrie mbH, the commercial enterprise of the Association of German Dental Manufacturers (VDDI) and staged by Koelnmesse GmbH, Cologne. Note for editors:
Photos from the last IDS are available in our image database at www.ids-cologne.de in the Press section.
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