Mikron increases sales and EBIT

Biel, July 25, 2019, 7:00 a.m. – With a high opening backlog, the Group generated a good performance in the first half of 2019. It increased sales by 14% year-on-year to CHF 176.4 million and EBIT by 25% to CHF 7.5 million. The development in the Automation business segment was particularly pleasing. The Machining Solutions business segment felt the impact of the decline in demand from the automotive industry.

As expected, the Mikron Group's order intake for the first half of 2019 was lower than the record prior-year figure (CHF 187.8 million) at CHF 163.9 million. Demand from the pharmaceutical and medtech industries was more stable than that from the automotive industry. The order backlog stands at CHF 183.3 million (June 30, 2018: CHF 186.6 million, -2%), while the Mikron Group increased sales to CHF 176.8 million (first half of 2018: CHF 155.3 million, +14%). This improvement was achieved thanks to the Automation business segment, which was able to benefit from the high workload as expected.

Europe (including Switzerland) remained the Mikron Group's principal sales market in the first six months of 2019, accounting for 57% of total sales. Here, the Group sales decreased by 3% compared with the first half of 2018. US sales grew by 47% year on year, while those in Asia rose by 26%.

Overall, the Mikron Group achieved an EBIT of CHF 7.5 million for the first half of 2019 (first half of 2018: CHF 6.0 million, +25%). The Automation business segment improved its EBIT from CHF 2.5 million in the first six months of 2018 to CHF 6.4 million in the first six months of 2019, while the Machining Solutions business segment's EBIT (CHF 1.7 million) fell short of the result for the first half of 2018 (CHF 2.7 million).

Net earnings for the first half of 2019 came to CHF 4.7 million (first six months of 2018:
CHF 3.8 million, +24%).

In the Mikron Automation business segment, highly productive automation systems were in strong demand again in the first half of 2019 – particularly in the pharmaceutical and medtech industries. Mikron Automation also made strong gains in the consumer goods segment, while order intake from the automotive industry was clearly below the prior-year figure. Overall, Mikron Automation achieved a good order intake in the first half of 2019. The business segment will therefore also see good capacity utilization in the second half of the year.

In the first half of 2019, the Machining Solutions business segment faced uncertainty in the global automotive industry and a sharp fall in demand from this market segment. The relatively healthy order backlog on hand at the beginning of the year enabled the business segment to keep sales on a par with the first half of 2018.

In the second half of the year, the Machining division will continue to work hard on establishing the new product platforms in its sales markets, despite difficult market conditions. For Mikron Tool division, the focus is on developing new markets in the pharmaceutical and medtech industries. Both of the Mikron Tool division's production sites (Agno, Switzerland and Rottweil, Germany) were operating at full capacity again in the first half of 2019.  

Outlook

A forecast for the second half of the year is difficult due to the uncertainty in the automotive industry and general political risks. Mikron does not expect demand from the automotive industry to recover in short term. In the other market segments, Mikron expects demand to remain stable. Overall, the Group expects sales for 2019 as a whole to be higher than in 2018 and EBIT at the previous year's level.

Key figures for the Mikron Group in the first half year 2019

*except number of employees and equity ratio

Contact

Mikron Management AG, Javier Perez Freije, CFO Mikron Group

Phone +41 91 610 62 09, ir.mma@mikron.com

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Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements in this media release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

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