Regional Business Review

EMEA region

The EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) region developed solidly in the 2022 financial year in spite of the challenging market environment. Order intake decreased from CHF 571.1 million in 2021 to CHF 508.8 million in 2022, a decline of 10.9% (–1.8% at constant exchange rates). Although customers adopted a more cautious approach in the second half of the year, the agricultural, construction machinery, transport, and sustainable energy sectors in particular continued to develop dynamically.

With a share of 49%, EMEA is Bystronic’s strongest region in terms of sales. On the one hand, sales continued to develop positively thanks to the high order backlog and the solid demand. On the other, supply bottlenecks for key components caused delays in the delivery of larger system solutions. Overall, sales increased by 6.5% (17.5% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 500.1 million. All market segments contributed to this growth.

After four years, the industry’s most important exhibition in the EMEA region, EuroBLECH in Hanover (Germany), was held again in October 2022. During the trade show, Bystronic was able to further strengthen its direct and personal contacts with customers, showcase a number of innovations, and successfully position itself as a supplier of end-to-end solutions comprising systems, software, and service.

Americas region

The Americas region saw a drop in order intake of 15.6% (–19.1% at constant exchange rates). However, the previous year was significantly impacted by catch-up effects associated with the pandemic. Order intake totaled CHF 308.7 million, well above pre-pandemic levels.

Sales increased by 34.8% (29.2% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 315.9 million, with the region achieving high growth levels across all applications (cutting, bending, automation) and market segments. This underscores Bystronic’s strong market position in the region. The Group’s profile in the American growth market has been considerably stepped up over the past few years. Here, the establishment of the US production site in Hoffman Estates (Chicago) represented a major milestone. It allows the Group to now produce laser cutting systems – in particular in the mid-range segment – locally and in closer proximity to customers.

China region

In the China region, the market environment was difficult. The measures to combat COVID and continuing economic uncertainties led to a significant slowdown of the industry. This resulted in a sharp decline in market demand. China domestic order intake decreased by 43.0% (–43.4% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 77.4 million and sales by 40.6% (–41.0% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 83.3 million. While the share of the service business in China remains below the Group average, the region successfully expanded these recurring sales, achieving double-digit growth rates.

In China, in addition to the sales and service organization, Bystronic also operates three production sites: In Shenzhen, the Group manufactures the entry-level product range under the DNE brand. In Tianjin, Bystronic produces laser cutting systems and press brakes for the mid-range/silver segment. From this site, the Group also services the increasing demand from the APAC region, which also ensures consistently high capacity utilization. Since the site in Shanghai was established in late 2021, Bystronic has also initiated the development of automation solutions there. Above all, these serve as a key differentiating factor in relation to local competitors, and lately the Group has successfully driven forward the expansion of its expertise in this field.

APAC region

Order intake for the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region developed favorably and again increased by 11.2% (18.0% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 114.7 million compared with the already strong previous year. All applications developed positively, and the region benefited above all from strong demand in the silver and entry-level segments. The fact that many customers are increasingly relocating production capacities from China to other countries in the APAC region also had a positive impact. Sales grew by 22.5% (30.2% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 116.5 million.

In line with its regionalization strategy, Bystronic is positioning itself even closer to its customers and building up local expertise. In June 2022, for example, the Group opened a new Brand Experience Center in Incheon, near Seoul, offering customers a local opportunity to experience the latest solutions first hand, which will significantly boost customer loyalty in this growth market.