The latest figures of Schuler AG confirm expectations for a stable fiscal year 2012/13. With consolidated sales of € 851.6 million after nine months, the press manufacturer almost reached its high prior-year figure of € 877.8 million. Growth in Germany and the Americas compensated for shortfalls in other regions. The company was able to make up lost ground in new orders during the third quarter – especially in its North American business. Orders received during the first nine months however fell by 20.1 percent to € 836.5 million. The engineering company had already forecast a fall in mid December 2012, as orders returned to normal levels following two exceptional years with new orders worth € 1.3 billion in each year.
In the first nine months of its current fiscal year, the company achieved an operating result before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of EUR 83.1 million (prior year: € 84.1 million). The Ebitda margin rose once again from 9.6 to 9.8 percent. With a consolidated profit of € 34.6 million (prior year: € 34.5 million), equity rose by 13.2 percent to € 276.9 million while the equity ratio improved from 27.1 percent at the beginning of the fiscal year to 28.1 percent.
“We are upholding our sales and Ebitda guidance for 2012/13,” stated Schuler CEO Stefan Klebert. Order backlog remains high at around € 1.1 billion as of June 30, 2013 while progress in sales and earnings after the first nine months make the company confident it can reach its targets. For the fiscal year 2012/13, Schuler expects to post sales revenues of around € 1.2 billion with an Ebitda margin of almost 10 percent.
This would result in Schuler reaching its declared growth targets one year earlier than expected. As Klebert explains: “In early 2011, we launched our strategic program Growing Together with the aim of tapping new growth opportunities. It also included clear financial targets. We set ourselves the goal of reaching sales of € 1.2 billion and an Ebitda margin of 10 percent by fiscal year 2013/14. We will now already meet this target in the current year.” In 2009/10, Schuler posted sales of € 650.3 million.
At the end of June 2013, the Group employed 5,563 people – and thus 2.2 percent more than nine months ago. The strongest growth was in China. Schuler recently launched production at a new facility in the Chinese port of Dalian which has tripled its former production in China capacity. “This will help us meet the strong demand from Chinese industry for high-quality machinery, such as our presses. Moreover, it enables us to enhance our customer proximity,” added Klebert in conclusion of his presentation of the company’s quarterly figures.
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