IBM Deutschland GmbH’s preliminary numbers for 1994 are finally in, showing net profit equivalent to $589m against a loss last time of $381m, on turnover up 2.4% at $8,440m. All the growth came in domestic sales, which were up 3.3% at $6,080m; exports were unchanged at a lowly $2,354m, which indicates that IBM has been partially successful in its abandonment of its policy of trying to be net neutral in terms of exports and imports in each major European market. The strategy now is clearly to manufacture where it is cheapest to do so, with the result that the UK subsidiary now exports far more than it sells in its home market – UK exports were almost double the German level at $4,020m.
