2015
Feintool increases sales despite negative currency effects
In spite of the slowdown in China, third-quarter sales in the high-volume parts business grew compared with the first two quarters of the year. 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 again selected for new drive-train components that also point to growth in the coming years. The investment goods business with presses and tools was influenced by prolonged decision processes: sales fell 7.9% and orders received were down 5.5%.
Increase in third-quarter sales
Group sales in Q3 2015 increased by 8.2% year-on-year on a local currency basis. The System Parts segment, which manufactures components, lifted its sales by 10.7% in local currency to CHF 112.0 million. This encouraging result is due both to new orders and to the current strength of the automotive market. Whereas the increase in America was nearly 16 percent in local currency, Asia and Europe grew by just over 6 percent. The Fineblanking Technology segment, which operates in the field of investment goods, reported sales (including internal transactions) of CHF 23.7 million – a 8.2% increase from the prior-year figure.
Overall in the first nine months of 2015, Feintool Group sales rose by 5.6% year-on-year in local currency to CHF 374.2 million. Of this figure, 87% was accounted for by the System Parts segment.
Slowdown in orders received in investment goods business
Orders received between 1 July and 30 September 2015 showed a year-on-year decline of 5.3% in local currency to CHF 68.0 million. New orders have slowed noticeably in recent months.
Orders backlog of six months
There was little change in the orders backlog in the investment goods business versus the same stage of the previous year and compared with 31 December 2014. In the Fineblanking Technology segment, Feintool therefore has sufficient work in hand for approximately six months.
Expected order releases in high-volume parts business remain encouraging
Feintool customers expect order releases of CHF 211.4 million for the next six months. This figure is only marginally lower than the prior-year figure.
Cautiously optimistic outlook
Barring any disruptions on our key markets due to political or economic incidents, Feintool is predicting group sales of around CHF 500 million. We anticipate an EBIT margin at the lower end of our guidance (between six and seven percent) due to higher reorganisation and start-up costs for new product programmes in Europe.