Order postponements impact on the half-year result

At CHF 114.2 million, the Mikron Group's order intake for the first half of 2017 was clearly below the prior-year level (first half of 2016: CHF 124.7 million). Largely on the back of orders in the second quarter, the Machining business segment reported a 7% rise in order intake compared with the relatively modest prior-year figure. Mikron Machining's tool business turned in a very reassuring performance in the first half of 2017. The service business saw order intake at a healthy level, exceeding the figure for the same period of 2016. Mikron Machining's machine business witnessed robust demand from the writing instruments industry, while no major orders came in from the watchmaking and automotive industries. The Automation business segment reported a 21% decrease in order intake compared to the first half of 2016. Whereas Mikron Automation regularly received new orders from European customers in the pharmaceutical and medtech industries, US customers were very hesitant to invest, with individual pre-confirmed orders put on hold until the second half of 2017. Mikron Automation's service business order intake was satisfactory, although it did not reach the good figure for the first half of 2016.

In the first half of 2017, the Mikron Group posted net sales of CHF 118.4 million (first half of 2016: CHF 127.0 million, -7%). The unevenly distributed order backlog at the individual sites at the beginning of the year and the unexpectedly low order intake in the first quarter of 2017 had a negative effect. Both business segments were unable to maintain sales at the prior year-level, as reflected in the decrease of 11% to CHF 60.7 million (first half of 2016: CHF 68.0 million) at Mikron Automation and of 2% to CHF 57.8 million (first half of 2016: CHF 59.2 million) at Mikron Machining.

Lower sales overall and additional outlays on individual Mikron Automation customer projects resulted in an EBIT loss of CHF -0.8 million for the first half of 2017 (first half of 2016: CHF 1.3 million). Mainly on the back of a solid performance by the tool and service businesses, the Machining business segment improved EBIT by CHF 1.4 million year-on-year to CHF -1.8 million (first half of 2016: CHF -3.2 million). However, this was not sufficient to break even. Although just in positive territory (CHF 0.2 million), the Automation business segment's result failed to match the very good prior-year figure.

Outlook

At Mikron Automation, prospective orders indicate a positive performance in the second half of 2017. The business segment is confident of seeing a significant improvement in order intake and sales at all its sites. Mikron Machining is expecting to benefit from positive stimuli from the writing instruments, watchmaking and electronics industries. Demand from the automotive industry is still difficult to gauge, whereas Mikron Machining can count on strong demand in the tool and service businesses in the second half as well.

Overall, the Mikron Group is expecting an increase in sales in the second half of 2017 to match the prior-year figure by the end of the current year. Factoring in the various additional measures in place to reduce costs and improve efficiency, the Group continues to predict a slight year-on-year increase in EBIT for 2017.

Key figures for the Mikron Group in the first half year 2017