Hermle maintains dynamic upward trend in the first quarter of 2022

Hermle maintains dynamic upward trend in the first quarter of 2022
New orders increase by 78% to 137 million euros
Turnover rose 54% to 100 million euros
Forecast for whole fiscal year substantiated
Open House underlines growing competence in automation

Gosheim, 12 May 2022 – Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG has been able to build on the positive development of its business recorded at the beginning of 2022. In comparison with the corresponding period last year that was still severely impacted by the Corona pandemic and short-time work, incoming orders across the full range of the Swabian machine tool and automation specialist’s operations for the first quarter of 2022 rose by 77.6% to 137.1 million euros (previous year 77.2 million euros). This represents a new peak value for a given quarter. Hermle received 85.0% more foreign orders worth 90.1 million euros compared with the previous year’s figure of 48.7 million euros. Domestic orders increased by 64.9% to 47.0 million euros (previous year 28.5 million euros). The dramatic upturn in demand could be observed across many sectors. On 31 March 2022 the order volume stood at 145.4 million euros, more than double the amount one year previously (57.5 million euros), and 34.8% more compared with 31 December 2021 (107.9 million euros).

Hermle’s group turnover in the first three months of 2022 increased by 54.3% to 99.7 million euros compared to the same period last year (64.6 million euros). Here, the domestic turnover accounted for 43.1 million euros (65.8% more than last year’s figure of 26.0 million euros), and foreign turnover increased by 46.6% to 56.6 million euros (previous year 38.6 million euros). The high workload was reflected in improved results, because material bottlenecks and supply chain disruptions have so far been compensated for by means of internal special measures. However, the upward trend in purchasing prices remains strong and shows no signs of slowing down, and Hermle will need to take this into account through price adjustments as well.

Thanks to a high degree of liquidity and an above-average equity ratio, Hermle’s financial and net asset situation remained very sound as of the end of March 2022. This means that the company has a stable basis from which to implement the planned increases in capacity at the Gosheim and Zimmern ob Rottweil sites, for which investments of around 60 million euros are anticipated during the coming five years. Work has already commenced on a new spindle assembly plant in Gosheim. Extensions are also scheduled for the large part manufacturing plant in Zimmern ob Rottweil, amongst other things. Depending on future economic developments including the situation in the construction industry, a new training and applications centre is envisaged at company headquarters.

On 31 March 2022, the Hermle Group had 1334 employees, 36 more than at the same time last year (1298 on 31 March 2021). In addition to employees who received employment opportunities after successful completion of their training, and corresponding appointment of new apprentices to fill the vacant places, there was also recruitment in the service sector, amongst others.

The dynamic demand continued into April 2022. The business development to date confirms the forecast for the whole of 2022: Despite major economic uncertainties and widespread procurement risks, the forecast remains of at least 10% increased turnover. As far as demand is concerned, future developments still appear relatively stable despite the war in Ukraine thanks to the current high level of orders. However, material supply may prove to be a limiting factor. The yield may be expected to be less than the turnover would suggest, because further raw materials and energy price increases are likely. In addition, defaults in receivables from Russian customers and the loss of company assets in Russia will have a negative effect.

The company anticipates increasing demand for its automation solutions in the medium term. The Hermle Open House held in Gosheim at the end of April, with displays of the latest production, automation and digitalization trends in mechanical engineering, provided ample confirmation of this. Hermle welcomed around 1700 specialist visitors from approximately 700 companies during the four-day event, which provided a forum for intensive face-to-face interaction after a two-year pause. The main focus was on the new developments in Hermle’s scope of automation solutions, which now includes the entire range of its machines. This means that Hermle plants can now handle parts weighing from just a few kilogrammes up to three tonnes fully automatically.

Press contact: Redaktionsbüro tik GmbH, Gabriele Rechinger, Phone +49 (0)911 988 170 72, E-Mail: info@tik-online.de  

Image material: Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG, Marketing Department, Phone +49 (0)7426 95 0, E-Mail: marketing@hermle.de