HERMLE records unexpectedly good results in the fourth quarter of 2021
16.03.2022
Hermle records unexpectedly good results in the fourth quarter of 2021
Turnover and result growth higher than expected for the whole of 2021
Management Board recommends that the Supervisory Board proposes an increased distribution
Despite the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine, turnover growth of at least 10% is expected in 2022. However, a disproportionately low increase in the result is anticipated
Promising medium-term growth prospects necessitate substantial investments
Gosheim, 16 March 2022 – Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG performed better than expected in 2021. According to provisional calculations, the German machine tool and automation specialist’s incoming orders rose to approx. €439 m (previous year, more affected by the Covid-19 pandemic: €242.5 m). Both domestic and foreign business increased markedly. After a modest start, demand stepped up especially in the second half of the year, so Hermle recorded peak order figures in both the third and the fourth quarters. Demand was especially concentrated on Industry 4.0, where Hermle offers the complete range from a single automated machine up to and including automation solutions for fully networked manufacturing processes. Compared to the figure recorded on the same reporting date at the end of December 2021, the backlog of orders across the Group had more than doubled to €107 m (previous year: €44.8 m).
According to preliminary, as yet unaudited figures, the Hermle Group-wide turnover increased by over 26% to €375 m in 2021 (previous year: €296.9 m), with non-domestic turnover rising slightly more than the domestic volume. This means that the turnover forecast of around 20%-25% growth made in November is likely to be slightly exceeded. The consistently strong demand in the fourth quarter could be met without difficulty despite increasing disruption of the supply chain, because Hermle maintained staffing levels during the pandemic. This gave the company the room to manoeuvre that it needed to respond rapidly and flexibly to the dynamic developments with a highly competent and motivated team.
Preliminary figures indicate that the operating result for 2021 rose by around 36% across the Group to roughly €74 m (previous year: €54.2 m). This performance exceeded expectations, which had anticipated a development closely aligned with turnover. The reason for this was that Hermle’s internal measures for coping with supply bottlenecks in the fourth quarter were much more effective than had been expected. Therefore the company was able to pre-produce for 2022 to a greater extent, which gave rise to very high capacity exploitation rates. In addition to the very positive effects resulting from this, an improvement in the price quality towards the end of the year aided earnings performance.
In view of this, the Management Board has today recommended the Supervisory Board to propose increasing the dividend for 2021 at the shareholders’ meeting on 6 July 2022. In accordance with this, shareholders are to receive an unchanged basic dividend of €0.80 per ordinary share and €0.85 per preference share plus a higher bonus of €8.20 in each case (previous year: €4.20). Hermle employees are to receive a bonus for the 2021 financial year based on the dividend amount.
In view of the large backlog of orders from last year and the continued high demand in early 2022, the outlook for the current financial year is, as of now, essentially good. The war in Ukraine has brought about imponderable, but certainly high risks both for incoming orders and especially for material supply interruptions in the coming months. Nevertheless, Hermle reckons with an increase in turnover of at least 10% for 2022, as long as no insoluble supply problems emerge. It is likely that the operating result will not remain proportional to the turnover on account of massive increases in material and energy costs. There are also substantial risks of default for claims against Russian customers as well as the loss of all the company’s assets in Russia, which would lead to balance-sheet losses of around €5 m.
Despite this, Hermle forecasts good medium-term growth prospects, especially in the field of automation and the associated significantly enhanced product range. In view of this, the company is planning extensive increases in capacity at its Zimmern ob Rottweil site. In total, investments of around €60 m are envisaged over the next five years.
Hermle expects to publish its detailed, audited figures for the 2021 financial year at the end of April 2022.
Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG
Günther Beck
Management Board
Press contact: Redaktionsbüro tik GmbH, Gabriele Rechinger,
T +49 911 988 170 72, Email: info@tik-online.de
Image material: Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG, Udo Hipp,
T +49 7426 95 6238, Email: udo.hipp@hermle.de
