Feintool Group broadly on track in the first half

 

Having undergone the announced consolidation, the newly constituted Group Management team can look back on a first half that met expectations. Overall, sales were up slightly while order intake rose sharply; and in the meantime, orders on hand have remained high. This can be ascribed to a further improvement in the results generated by the Group's core Fineblanking/Forming segment. Following a weak first quarter, the Automation segment gained a lot of ground in the second quarter. In the Plastic/Metal Components segment, the optimization measures initiated will only yield positive results in a later period. Operating earnings were slightly down from the year-ago figure, and last year's non-recurring income coupled with higher depreciation charges and up-front sales and marketing expenses in the current year, are set to fall slightly short of the 2005/2006 level at the end of the financial year.

 

A buoyant global investment climate for technology and systems had a positive impact on outstanding orders and projects. With its competitive products and services, Feintool intends to continue capitalizing on this. In the component supplies business, Fineblanking/Forming has seen continuing growth despite price pressures and supply problems in the steel sector, as process and cost structures have been steadily improved.

 

With 65.9% of Group sales, the traditional Fine­blanking/Forming segment reported further expansion in business, even on top of its excellent result a year earlier. This segment's sales rose 6% to CHF 168.7 million (up from CHF 158.9 million) while EBIT improved by 5% from CHF 13.9 million to CHF 14.6 million. Sales of presses and tools made an especially large contribution to this growth. The components manufacture business saw further rises both in call-offs from existing orders and in new orders.

 

The Automation segment, which accounted for 20.6% of sales, performed well - particularly in the second quarter. While the figures for sales (CHF 52.8 million, down from CHF 55.1 million a year previously) and EBIT (CHF 3.4 million, down from CHF 3.8 million) were lower than in the year-back period, a cumulative 52% rise in order intake meant that the order book was far larger than a year earlier. Consequently, there is a good chance that the shortfall will be largely made up by the end of the financial year.

 

The new management team at Plastic/Metal Components is focusing on stepping up the acquisition of new orders, further productivity gains and future-oriented investments in micro-injection moulding technology. Accounting for 13.7% of Group sales (CHF 35.2 million, down from CHF 37.5 million a year earlier), it reported EBIT of CHF -0.1 million (down from CHF 0.2 million). Contrary to original plans, capacity utilization at the facility in Lamphun, Thailand, is unsatisfactory and the company is keeping its options open as regards the creation of additional capacity in the NAFTA countries.

 

Total assets as at 31.03.07 amounted to CHF 433.5 million, i.e. a shade higher than the figure reported three months earlier (31.12.06: CHF 426.7 million). Owing to higher trade receivables and work in progress (reflecting large orders intake), current assets were CHF 13.6 million higher than at the end of financial 2005/06. Group equity rose to CHF 164.4 million, giving an equity ratio of 37.9% (previous year: 32.8%).

 

As order intake rose again by a substantial 9.5% to CHF 283.0 million while orders on hand soared by 17.6% year-on-year to a record CHF 199.4 million, sales in the current financial year (1.10.06 - 30.9.07) should slightly exceed the 2005/06 figure. The operating result, however, will probably come in just short of the previous year's out-turn. Group Management takes an upbeat view of Feintool's future growth.

 

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

Joachim Kaufmann, CEO, and Jürg E. Wenger, CFO

Phone +41 (0)32 387 51 11