In the first six months of 2019, the Homag Group increased its sales by 5% to Euro 637 million, compared to Euro 606 million in the 1H 2018. At Euro 591 million, order intake was below the very high level of the previous year (Euro 701 million). The order backlog was worth Euro 558 million as at June 30, 2019, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Operating EBIT decreased to Euro 39.4 million, compared to Euro 41.5 million in the 1H 2018. The reasons for this were increasing competitive pressure, declining sales in China and higher material and personnel costs.
"In view of the weaker economic development of the recent months, our market environment has become more difficult," explains CEO Pekka Paasivaara. "As a result, many investment decisions of our customers have been delayed and thus our order intake has declined in the first half of the year. We are seeing a further slowdown in the market, especially in China and, following the strong investments of previous years, in Germany as well."
Homag Group is the leading supplier of integrated solutions for production in the woodworking industry and woodworking shops.
