Record level of orders in the first half of 2021
HOMAG Group benefits from higher investments in living spaces
Schopfloch, July 27, 2021. For the first half of 2021, the HOMAG Group has reported a new record level of orders, which is substantially above the previous peak figure. This positive development is partly attributable to the new Solid Wood Processing business unit, through which HOMAG is strongly pushing ahead with its solid wood activities for timber frame house construction.
Compared to the first half year of 2020, which was marked by the effects of the pandemic, order intake at the HOMAG Group was up substantially by 80 percent, increasing to € 887 million (previous year: € 493 million). The company thus exceeded its previous record level of € 734 million, achieved in 2017, by around 20 percent. Sales increased by 19 percent to € 657 million (previous year: € 552 million), while orders on hand also reached an all-time high of € 844 million on June 30, 2021 (June 30, 2020: € 480 million). The HOMAG Group improved its operating EBIT to € 39.6 million (previous year: € 10.7 million).
“We are at the beginning of a new investment cycle. Plus, our customers around the world are benefiting from the fact that people are increasingly investing in their living spaces,” highlights CEO Ralf W. Dieter. “This, in turn, leads to dynamic demand for efficient machines, like the ones used for producing kitchens and furniture – and these innovative solutions are what we are offering our customers.” The stand-alone machine business, along with the service business, saw a particularly positive development at the HOMAG Group in the first six months of 2021. But the company’s systems business involving large systems is also on the road to recovery, part of which almost came to a standstill in the same period of the previous year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are particularly pleased that our investments in the new solid wood segment are already paying off,” explains Dr. Daniel Schmitt, responsible for this area on the Board of Management. “We are observing a rise in demand for sustainable and climate-friendly timber houses, which is working in our favor.”
“We are also benefiting from the partnership with our customers, which is based on trust and which we continued to nurture throughout the pandemic,” says Dieter. “We have thus made every effort to maintain the best possible contact with our customers, despite the more challenging conditions. Our numerous online formats have been very well received. Most recently, in May and June, we reached participants from over 90 countries with our ‘Live.HOMAG’ online event. They could choose from over 500 sessions, where we presented holistic workshop concepts, machines, software, and digital assistants.”
As at June 30, 2021, the HOMAG Group had 7,113 employees (June 30, 2020: 6,498). Around 620 employees joined through the acquisition of the companies HOMAG China Golden Field, and System TM and Kallesoe in Denmark.
Disclaimer
This press release contains certain statements relating to the future. Future oriented 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.