Regional Business Review

EMEA region

Demand in the markets in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region continued to slacken in the first half of 2023. While northern Europe proved somewhat more resilient, customer investment behavior in southern and central Europe was cautious. Overall, order intake decreased by 24.0% to CHF 198.4 million (-18.1% at constant exchange rates).

As the Group’s strongest region in terms of sales with a share of around 50%, the EMEA region generated sales of CHF 235.8 million, representing a growth of 6.1% (+14.0% at constant exchange rates) compared to the first half of 2022.

Americas region

The Americas region recorded a slowdown in order intake in the first half of 2023. Compared to the strong first half-year 2022, incoming orders decreased by 13.5% (-10.5% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 145.7 million. In spite of this drop, they remain around CHF 50 million above the pre-pandemic level of the first half of 2019. In recent years, the Group’s presence in the American growth market has been significantly expanded thanks to the opening of the US production site, allowing the Group to shift manufacturing closer to the customers. Moreover, Bystronic is benefiting from a re-shoring surge, primarily from Asia, of the industrial activities of its customers and their associated investments.

Sales in the region increased by 25.2% (+28.8% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 164.5 million as a result of brisk delivery and installation as well as the realization of the high order backlog.

China region

Momentum in the China region remains subdued in spite of the easing of COVID-related measures early in the year. Customers across all sectors adopted a restrained approach. As a result, order intake decreased by 22.0% (-14.2% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 33.5 million. The demand for automation solutions has also established itself in China. Consequently, Bystronic invested in a Competence Center Automation (CCA) in Shanghai. With the new site, the development cycle for automation products has been sped up, and customers in China can be provided with even more effective and rapid service.

Due to the challenging economic environment, net sales decreased by 31.8% (-25.0% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 34.5 million. Bystronic has established a strong position in the region and is confident that it will be able to reap the benefits of its broad portfolio as soon as the Chinese market recovers.

APAC region

Order intake in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region declined by 32.1% (-25.9% at constant exchange rates) to a total of CHF 43.3 million compared to the very strong first half of 2022. Korea, in particular, recorded a weaker performance due to lower investment volumes from government support programs. Conversely, Australia shows a positive development.

Net sales dropped by 31.4% (-25.4% at constant exchange rates) to CHF 33.5 million.