Double-digit increase in order intake and earnings.

The Feintool Group benefited from its strong market position and a moderate recovery of the European economy in the first quarter of 2014. Compared with the same period of 2013, and in purely organic terms, the Group raised its sales by 16.0% to CHF 131.1 million. The bulk manufacturing of demanding precision components (System Parts segment), which is directly dependent on automotive production volumes, increased sales by 20.1% to CHF 100.5 million despite adverse currency effects. In the capital goods business, Fineblanking Technology’s sales decreased by 8.6% to CHF 23.1 million. During the period under review, only a small number of presses and systems were delivered for the internal System Parts segment. Business with third-party customers rose by 6.4% year on year to CHF 19.6 million. Sales in the Automation segment were almost unchanged from the previous year at CHF 10.9 million.

Strong order intake
Orders received were up by an impressive 33.3% to CHF 167.5 million. In the System Parts segment, they rose by 28.0% to CHF 129.1 million. All regions contributed to the organic growth, with Asia’s share making the smallest contribution due to the weaker Japanese yen. Orders received by the Fineblanking Technology segment rose by 21.3% to CHF 27.0 million overall, with third-party business recording a slightly bigger gain (24.7%) to CHF 24.8 million. In the Automation segment, order intake rose by a factor of about 2.5 to CHF 13.6 million. The market recovery was noticeable at IMA Automation Amberg, which operates mainly in Europe.
Orders in hand for six months
The orders backlog climbed by 33.1% year on year to CHF 275.6 million. Compared with 31 December 2013, this equates to an increase of 13.5%. Whereas the Parts business saw a steep rise in its orders backlog, the figure for the investment goods business, Fineblanking Technology, saw a slight (1.6%) decrease. In the Automation business, orders in hand almost doubled. Fineblanking Technology now has roughly six months’ work in hand, whereas the orders backlog at Automation is sufficient for more than twelve months.

Bright outlook
The new financial year began successfully for Feintool. With the level of business in the sector remaining stable worldwide, we expect this development to continue. We therefore anticipate Group sales of around CHF 520 million and an operating margin in the region of 7%. In the medium term, our aim is to increase sales to CHF 600 million on an EBIT margin of 8%.

Precise servotechnology, easy handling, and high speed: the XFT 2500speed combines many demands into one modern ineblanking press. Now Feintool is creating additional reserves and has optimized the press. Customers benefiting from this innovation include SCHERDEL Feinschneidtechnik GmbH in Chemnitz.

Here is the whole success story