BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN (dpa-AFX) - The mechanical engineering company Dürr has cut its annual targets due to weak business in the woodworking sector. The Board of Management has also announced that hundreds of jobs are to be cut. The Group's operating margin (EBIT margin) is expected to be only 4.5 to 5.5 percent in 2023. Previously, the range was 5.6 to 6.6 percent. At 110 to 160 million euros, earnings after tax are also likely to be significantly lower than previously forecast. The management recently had 50 million euros more on the cards at both ends. The forecasts for order intake, sales and free cash flow remain unchanged. Dürr shares lost 2.5 percent compared to the Xetra closing price on the Tradegate trading platform.

"The core of the package is the planned reduction of almost 600 jobs at Homag in Germany and abroad," the MDax-listed company surprisingly announced on Tuesday evening in Bietigheim-Bissingen. The Management Board hopes that this will lead to recurring cost reductions of initially 25 million euros in the coming year. From 2025 onwards, annual savings of around 50 million euros are expected.

In the first nine months of the year, order intake at the Homag Group, which bundles the woodworking business, fell by 32 percent. "This is expected to lead to a decline in sales of up to 15 percent in 2024," the management announced two days before the publication of the figures for the third quarter (November 9)./ngu/he