Hermle reports notable demand in the first three quarters of 2022
Number of orders received rose by 36% to €420 million
Turnover increased by 40%, operating result up by similar amount
Turnover growth of around 20% achievable over the year as a whole with the operating result showing disproportionately low development
Gosheim, 14 November 2022 – Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG has recorded a sharp upturn in demand throughout 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, which was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of orders received by the southern German machine tool and automation specialist rose Group wide in the first three quarters of 2022 by 35.6% to €420.2 million (previous year: €309.9 million). New orders in Germany rose by roughly 29.8% to €151.0 million (previous year: €116.3 million) and internationally by 39.0% to €269.2 million (previous year: €193.6 million). Hermle documented a substantial growth in the demand for customised automation solutions. As expected, its pace has slowed down since the middle of the year when the pandemic-related base effect began to fade. Nevertheless, the orders on hand of the Hermle Group as of 30 September 2022 were a healthy €211.5 million, which was 64.7% more than recorded on the same date in the previous year (30 September 2021: €128.4 million) and 96.0% more than at the end of 2021 (31 December 2021: €107.9 million).
Hermle Group turnover rose by 39.9% to €316.7 million during the first nine months of 2022 (previous year: €226.4 million). Of which €115.6 million were generated by domestic sales (previous year: €92.4 million) and €201.1 million by foreign sales (previous year: €134.0 million), resulting in an export quota of 63.5% (previous year: 59.2%). The ongoing supply chain disruptions were again largely compensated for in the third quarter through special internal measures. The operating result improved almost proportional to turnover throughout the reporting period, as the positive effects of high-capacity utilisation more than compensated for the additional expenses incurred for the special measures and for higher material and energy prices.
The number of employees in the Hermle Group rose to 1,375 as of 30 September 2022 (30 September 2021: 1,309, 31 December 2021: 1,320). New employees were hired primarily in areas with a high production volume, as well as in the areas of procurement, logistics and service. Further, the apprentices who had successfully passed their final exams were retained and new apprentices recruited in September to fill the vacant positions.
Thanks to liquidity reserves and an equity ratio of almost 71%, the financial and assets position of the Hermle Group remained very solid at the end of September 2022. The investments in tangible and intangible assets rose to €6.3 million in the first nine months of 2022 (previous year: €4.4 million). In addition to production, quality assurance, information technology and additive manufacturing, Hermle focussed on strengthening its foreign sales activities to open up new and promising markets.
In the final quarter of 2022, dynamic development will fade further due to uncertain economic conditions, increasing supply chain problems and loss of the base effect. However, the risks for the remaining weeks of the year are now easier to assess and, in line with the favourable scenario presented in the half yearly report, will have less of an impact than originally expected. Therefore, from today's perspective, an increase in turnover of around 20% appears achievable for Hermle over 2022 as a whole. In contrast, the operating result is expected to show disproportionately low development, as no additional capacity is expected to be released in the fourth quarter due to the very high level of capacity utilisation, unlike in the previous quarters. This is likely to be accompanied by further increases in procurement prices as well as staff costs due to the new wage agreement and a renewed increase in Covid-19 cases.
Irrespective of the various risks in the industry, Hermle expects demand for its automation solutions for 24/7 production to remain high. This was recently underlined, for example, at two major trade fairs: AMB in Stuttgart and IMTS in Chicago. The orders on hand of the technology leader in 5-axis machining centres should, therefore, still be at a very good level at the turn of the year.
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, Abteilung Marketing, Phone +49 (0)7426 95 0, E-Mail: marketing@hermle.de
