In the first half of 2018, the Homag Group's incoming orders reached Euro 701 million, a 4.4% drop (adjusted for exchange-rate effects: a 1.5% drop) from the previous year's all-time high (Euro 734 million), which was equivalent to a 33% increase. The order backlog was worth Euro 658 million as at June 30, 2018. The Homag Group increased its sales to Euro 606 million, compared to Euro 598 million in the 1H 2017, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Operating EBIT, at Euro 41.5 million (previous year: Euro 48.1 million), was influenced by various factors. These include not only the introduction of a new ERP software and the associated delivery bottlenecks, but also a sustained high level of investment in digitization, the launch of new branding for the entire product range, a management fee paid to Dürr, and negative exchange-rate effects particularly from North America.
"Due to a temporary lower demand in the Chinese market, we remained in the first six months of 2018 significantly behind the exceptionally high level of incoming orders we had seen in the 1st half of 2017. In the other regions, however, we performed well, as anticipated. It is particularly in our project business where we expect the positive development to continue", explains CEO Pekka Paasivaara. "Moreover, in the first half of 2018 we implemented a modern ERP system at our largest site in Schopfloch, which temporarily affected our operating performance. Therefore, some additional expenses were required to ensure our ability to deliver", adds Paasivaara.
The Homag Group is the world's leading supplier of integrated solutions for production in the woodworking industry and woodworking shops.
