Sheet Metal Processing –
BYSTRONIC

The Sheet Metal Processing segment generated net revenue of CHF 801.4 million in 2020 (previous year: CHF 936.0 million). On a comparable basis, i.e. at stable exchange rates, revenue declined by 9.4%. The operating result amounted to CHF 52.3 million (CHF 121.1 million), with an EBIT margin of 6.6% (12.9%). Order intake was CHF 777.4 million (CHF 929.4 million) which, at stable exchange rates, was 11.4% lower than the previous year, and the order book level at year-end was CHF 206.8 million (CHF 242.3 million). Following an already weaker trend in the sheet metal processing market in 2019, customer demand collapsed in the first half of the year due to the pandemic and the widespread lockdowns. On the production side, there were certain supply bottlenecks and the temporary shutdown of some of our own plants. In the second half of the year, there was a partial recovery in business activity across all regions and product areas, with order intake in the fourth quarter 2.4% higher than in the same quarter of the previous year (8.4% at stable exchange rates). The lower operating result compared with the previous year resulted from the loss of revenue, increased margin pressure as well as expenses in connection with the strategy implementation.

The new generation of BySmart Fiber products launched in 2019 met with increased global interest in cost-effective cutting solutions in 2020, and these products were able to be produced locally and also brought to market in the USA, thanks to the opening of an assembly plant during the reporting year. Other automation solutions for bending and sorting were launched in the market, with the presentation of new products, training and customer support increasingly moving online due to the pandemic. As before, and increasingly also in China, the trend in favor of higher performance systems with integrated automation is ongoing, which is why Bystronic continued to invest consistently in the development of smart factory solutions despite the challenging environment. The latest version was presented in October.