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Member News
Schuler AG
Schuler raises sales and earnings to record levels
• Yadon and AWEBA tap new market segments
• Savings above target thanks to manufacturing concept
• Equity ratio reaches 39 percent for rst time
Press manufacturer Schuler AG raised sales and earnings to new record levels in 2017. The global market leader based in Göppin- gen, Germany, posted consoli- dated sales of € 1.23 (prior year: € 1.17) billion with particularly strong growth in North America and China. Compared to the pre- vious year, the operating result (EBITDA) rose to € 141 (€ 123) million. As a ratio of sales, this corresponds to a margin of 11.5 (10.4) percent – putting Schuler among the leaders in Germany’s machine and plant engineering sector. There were important con- tributions to the successful annual nancial statements from the two strategic investments Yadon and AWEBA (included in the full-year consolidated gures for the rst time), as well as from improved cost structures in Germany fol- lowing the implementation of the company’s manufacturing concept. With a record equity ratio of 39.0
percent, Schuler has created excel- lent conditions for the further development of the Group.
At the balance sheet press con- ference in Göppingen, CEO Stefan Klebert stated: “The healthy annual nancial statements for 2017 re ect the success- ful changes made over the past few years. Earnings were driven by both the new manufactur- ing concept and the acquisitions Yadon and AWEBA. These two takeovers have not just been a nancial success story, but have also helped Schuler tap strate- gically important domestic and foreign markets.”
New orders boosted by strong nal quarter
New orders received by Schuler in 2017 made uneven progress. There were order increases of over 20 percent in some cases in China, the Industrial division, and for die solutions (mainly AWEBA). By contrast, there was a notice- able decline in orders received by the Automotive division. The
main reason for this trend is the decision of major car manufactur- ers to channel considerable funds into the expansion of electromo- bility while temporarily postpon- ing investment in new production capacity. Schuler itself is not adversely impacted by the change to new drive technologies. The company also supplies press lines to manufacture body parts for electric vehicles, as well as lines to produce electric motor lamina- tions and batteries.
For the Group as a whole, new orders fell slightly to € 1.14 (€ 1.20) billion in 2017. The strong nal quarter of the year accounted for a third of this total. As of December 31, the order backlog stood at € 0.90 (prior year: € 1.01) billion. In the rst weeks of 2018, new orders maintained their encouraging momentum from the last quarter of 2017 and contin- ued to make good progress, espe- cially in the Automotive business. All in all, Schuler expects sales and earnings before special items
Schuler Group at a glance (IFRS)
2017
2016
Sales
€ million
1,233.1
1,174.2
New orders
€ million
1,141.0
1,199.5
Order backlog
€ million
901.6
1,013.1
EBITDA
€ million
141.4
122.6
EBITA
€ million
117.1
101.8
EBT
€ million
106.4
95.1
EBITDA margin
%
11.5
10.4
Group pro t
€ million
72.1
77.4
Total statement of nancial positions
€ million
1,276.3
1,361.3
Shareholders’ equity
€ million
498.4
438.4
Equity ratio
%
39.0
32.2
Net nancial status
€ million
125.4
116.3
Employees incl. apprentices
persons
6,570
6,617
ITAtube Journal No2/July 2018
68