Net sales grew due to acquisition.

Between January 1 and March 31, 2019, the technology group achieved net sales of CHF 174 million. Adjusted for currency effects, this amounts to an increase of 7.5%. Business of parts production grew – thanks to the acquisition in the field of electro sheet stamping – by 6.7% without exchange rate effects. The capital goods segment recorded an increase in net sales of 9.9% on an already high level.

The difficult market environment significantly influenced the first quarter of 2019. Group-wide, Feintool achieved turnover of CHF 173.6 million, which equates to growth in the reporting currency of 7.6%. The currency effects in the first quarter were insignificant, hence the increase in local currencies amounted to 7.5%. The effect of last year’s acquisition in the field of electro sheet stamping amounted to 6.3% and thus accounted for the majority of the growth.

The System Parts segment business with high-volume production of demanding precision components saw another increase thanks to the acquisition. This segment finds itself exposed to a difficult market environment. The USA and Chinese automotive markets declined somewhat in the first quarter. Net sales in the segment rose by 6.7% to CHF 154.7 million, with the acquired electro sheet stamping business contributing 7.0% of the growth. Thus, the segment achieved virtually the same figures as last year organically. For the business involving presses and systems in the Fineblanking Technology segment, however, there was an increase in net sales in the first quarter of 2019 on top of what was already a very high level. The segment recorded net sales growth of 10.4%, which equates to 9.4% when adjusted for currency effects, resulting in a figure of CHF 24.9 million.

Incoming and existing orders in the capital goods business reflect an increasingly difficult market environment
Incoming orders in the Fineblanking Technology segment fell – from a very high level – by 30.3% to CHF 20.4 million. Thus the backlog of orders fell by 37.1% to CHF 33.3 million. The extent of the backlog still amounts to almost six months in Fineblanking Technology’s capital goods business.

Outlook
Feintool expects the increasing political and economic uncertainties to have a depressive impact on the anticipated net sales in all regions and markets. The extent and duration of these negative influences are currently hard to assess, so Feintool is refraining from issuing a quantitative outlook for the financial year 2019 at the moment. Feintool nevertheless expects the net result to remain positive in the 2019 financial year, and that the next few years will see further growth in all regions, partly thanks to the customer projects and market share gains achieved in the current financial year.

Overview of key financial indicators

In a brief
Feintool is an internationally active technology and market leader in the field of fineblanking. This technology is characterized by cost-effectiveness, highest quality and productivity.
As a driver of innovation, we continually expand the horizons of fineblanking and develop intelligent solutions to meet the requirements of our customers: either fineblanking systems with innovative tools or the complete production of precise fineblanked, formed and stamped electro sheet components in high outputs for demanding industrial applications.
The processes used support the trends in the automotive industry. Feintool acts as a project and development partner in the areas of lightweight construction/sustainability, module variations/platforms and alternative drive concepts such as hybrid and electric drives.
The company, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Lyss, Switzerland, owns its production plants and technology centers in Europe, the United States, China and Japan, always making sure to be geographically close to its customers. Around 2,700 employees and over 80 trainees work worldwide on new solutions and create key advantages for Feintool customers.