2014
Feintool increases sales by 16 percent
"Feintool achieved a pleasing increase in sales in the first nine months", said Chairman of the Board of Directors Alexander von Witzleben. "In Europe and the USA in particular, Feintool benefited from contracts that were awarded over the last few years and are now reflected in sales. During this period, moreover, Feintool was selected for new products that also point to growth in the coming years."
Strong rise in sales
Group sales in Q3 2014 increased by 9.4% year-on-year. After already performing well in the previous period, the System Parts segment, which manufactures components, lifted its sales by 11.7% to CHF 105.2 million. This encouraging result is due both to new orders and to the current strength of the automotive market (albeit with some geographical variations). The Fineblanking Technology segment, which operates in the field of investment goods, reported sales (including intra-group sales) of CHF 21.8 million – a 5.8% decrease from the prior-year figure. Third-party sales, however, were virtually unchanged from the previous year.
Overall in the first nine months of 2014, Feintool Group sales rose by 15.7% year on year to CHF 369.5 million. Of this figure, 84% was accounted for by the System Parts segment.
Gratifying order situation
Orders received between 1 July and 30 September 2014 amounted to CHF 134.2 million, 26.6% more than in the prior-year period. With the automotive business remaining stable and plenty of new production runs and releases, order intake at System Parts grew by 32.3%. This represents order releases for next six months. Orders received by the Fineblanking Technology segment increased by a total of 6.3%. Once again, this was due in part to growth in internal orders from System Parts.
In the first nine months of 2014, orders received were 10.8% higher than in the corresponding period of 2013, rising to CHF 403.6 million.
Orders backlog at a high level
Compared to 30 September 2013, the orders backlog rose 17.7% to CHF 245.4 million. The increase versus 31 December 2013 was an even more impressive 18.8%. In the Fineblanking Technology segment, Feintool now has sufficient work in hand for approximately six months.
Cautiously optimistic outlook
Following these successful first nine months, we are confirming our guidance for the whole of 2014 that we issued at the start of the financial year. Barring any disruptions on our markets due to political developments, we are predicting group sales of CHF 470–480 million. On this basis, we still expect the EBIT margin to remain close to 7%.
*) all figures relate to continuing operations (i.e. excluding the Automation segment sold in June 2014)
Both editions include an interview with Feintool’s new CEO Bruno Malinek, who talks about the potential of fineblanking and outlines the opportunities Feintool offers its customers worldwide.
System Parts
iwis Antriebssysteme has been manufacturing chain loops and chain wheels for over 100 years, and has long relied on Feintool products for this. We will be taking a closer look at this strong partnership in the System Parts edition of Horizons. Another success story comes from Taicang in China, where Feintool produces ratchets for a belt tensioner system for Yanfeng KSS. Our example from Obertshausen, where components are produced for hybrid transmissions for EM-motive, shows that formed parts can also be used outside conventional combustion engines.
Fineblanking Technology
In Fineblanking Technology, we introduce the new version of the servo-mechanical fineblanking press XFT2500 speed used at the company Scherdel. We spoke to former Feintool CEO Heinz Loosli and patent attorney Wolf-Dieter Hannig about Feintool's innovative strength and patents and their associated customer advantages. We also showcase automotive supplier Adient, which uses Feintool hydraulic presses and high-tech tools in the production of seat adjusters.
To Feintool’s customer magazines