Financial year 2019: Economy slowdown reduces incoming orders
Schopfloch, 27th February 2020. In the 2019 financial year, the HOMAG Group was able to maintain its sales almost at the previous year's level. However, the weaker economic and industry situation has had an impact on the incoming orders and the financial result.
According to preliminary figures, in the 2019 financial year, the HOMAG Group sales summed up to € 1,279 million (previous year: € 1,298 million). The order backlog was worth € 546 million as of December 31, 2019 (12/31/2019: € 602 million), and incoming orders reduced significantly to € 1,220 million (previous year: € 1,337 million). As of December 31, 2019, the company had 6,569 employees (12/31/2018: 6,593).
The EBIT is marked by the one-off-expenses put in place to support the structural measures announced in November 2019, which include closing production at the Hemmoor site. “We are regrouping with numerous measures in place,” explains the CEO, Pekka Paasivaara. “We want to optimize our internal structures and processes and increase our efficiency so that we are fully prepared for the next upturn.” Including one-off expenses, EBIT has dropped to € 46.2 million (previous year: € 94.9 million). Even without these special expenses, the operating EBIT decreased by 13% to € 82.8 million. This was largely due to the weak state of the market and under-utilization.
“2019 saw a distinct market slowdown in business with the furniture industry”, emphasizes Pekka Paasivaara. “Particularly in Germany, there was an appreciable reduction in incoming orders after high levels of investment in the previous years. In other regions, demand was around the same level as the previous year.”
Meanwhile, investments in the HOMAG Group remained fairly constant at € 41.8 million and primarily related to digital and IT projects and measures to improve productivity.
Once again this year, the HOMAG Group aims to impress its customers with a comprehensive range of solutions. Paasivaara: “One of our main themes is the organization of woodworking shops in the digital age. We are focusing on practical solutions that will make everyday work life easier for joiners and carpenters and increase the efficiency of businesses. We also offer digital assistants from many areas which offer real benefits and added value.”
Disclaimer
This press release contains certain statements relating to the future. Futureoriented statements are all those statements that do not pertain to historical facts and events or expressions pertaining to the future such as “believes”, “estimates”, “assumes”, “forecasts”, “intend”, “may”, “will”, “should” or similar expressions. Such future-oriented statements are subject to risks and uncertainty since they relate to future events and are based on current assumptions of the Company, which may not occur in the future or may not occur in the anticipated form. The Company points out that such future-oriented statements do not guarantee the future; actual results including the financial position and the profitability of the HOMAG Group as well as the development of economic and regulatory framework conditions may deviate significantly (and prove unfavorable) from what is expressly or implicitly assumed or described in these statements. Even if the actual results of the HOMAG Group including the financial position and profitability as well as the economic and regulatory framework conditions should coincide with the future-oriented statements in this press release, it cannot be guaranteed that the same will hold true in the future.