Group Business Review
Ongoing difficult market environment leads to lower order intake and half-year loss
The market situation in the first half of 2024 continued to be very challenging. Customers behaved cautiously so order intake fell 27.6% to CHF 304.7 million. Accordingly, sales fell 29.3% to CHF 330.9 million. The steep decrease in sales volume led to an EBIT of CHF –23.0 million.
Order intake, sales, order backlog
Due to general economic uncertainty, demand in all regions fell and customers were cautious with investments in the first six months of 2024. Processes related to project decisions and contract conclusions took significantly longer than normal, and customers delayed investment decisions. Many companies in the sheet metal industry serving various sectors were not operating at full production capacity. Customers were also generally reluctant to invest as they anticipated lower interest rates.
And finally, even sectors like agriculture, in which many of our customers operate, experienced decline. Many customers manufacture parts for agricultural machinery, and the agricultural sector suffered in the first half of the year due to low grain prices. Bystronic also felt the effects of this.
Order intake fell 27.6% to CHF 304.7 million (–24.5% at constant exchange rates) and sales decreased accordingly by 29.3% to CHF 330.9 million. As of June 30, 2024, the order backlog was CHF 238.5 million, compared to CHF 252.9 million at year end 2023.