Sheet Metal Processing –
BYSTRONIC

The Sheet Metal Processing segment (Bystronic) generated net revenue of CHF 372.6 million (previous year: CHF 448.6 million). On a comparable basis, net revenue was down 12.0% on the previous year. The new machine business in particular was notably affected by the pandemic across all product areas, initially in China, later in most other important sales regions. In April, order intake plummeted by more than 40% due to travel restrictions and business shutdowns. The resumption of economic activity brought a clear recovery towards the end of the reporting period. Order intake in June was down just under 5% on the previous year. With increased margin pressure, order intake for the first half of the year was CHF 340.2 million, down by 24.5% on the previous year or by 20.0% taking currency effects into account. The order book as of mid-year reached CHF 200.3 million, compared with CHF 254.4 million as of the end of June 2019. The operating result amounted to CHF 27.9 million (CHF 57.8 million), yielding an EBIT margin of 7.1% (12.5%).

Bystronic’s own production was also affected by business shutdowns at staggered times. Plants in China, Europe and America had to be temporarily closed down. Despite the adverse environment, it was possible to assemble the first laser cutting systems in the new US production site in April. The opening of the associated experience center for customer demonstrations to convey the technological capabilities is planned for the second half of the year, which will significantly strengthen Bystronic’s position in the North American market. The groundbreaking for a new experience center in Korea likewise took place during the reporting period. Various product innovations were also launched. In the “Cutting” product segment, these included systems with even higher performance and options for processing additional sheet metal formats. Additional automation solutions for manufacturing cells were introduced in the “Bending” product segment, including high-performance programming software.

In order to mitigate the impact of travel restrictions, considerable efforts were made to stay close to the market with new digital options. These included virtual product demonstrations and training, also to show customers the benefits of available efficiency-enhancing systems and automation solutions. In the context of sustainable development, an analysis of the climate impact of business activities was initiated for the Niederönz site in order to further improve energy efficiency and ecological sustainability across the entire value chain in cooperation with suppliers and customers.