BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN (dpa-AFX) - Mechanical engineering company Dürr earned significantly more in the second quarter of the year, mainly thanks to good business with the automotive industry. "The second quarter brought the expected acceleration," said Jochen Weyrauch, chairman of the board of management, on Thursday when presenting the half-year figures. He added that the company was continuing on this course, with sales and earnings expected to increase significantly again in the third and especially the fourth quarter. Order intake is also on track and should reach the upper end of the target range of 4.4 to 4.8 billion euros for the full year. The Executive Board confirmed the full-year targets. The share price rose by almost two percent in the morning, making it one of the biggest winners on the MDax.

In the second quarter, sales increased by almost seven percent year-on-year to 1.12 billion euros, according to the MDax-listed company in Bietigheim-Bissing. Operating profit (adjusted Ebit) rose by more than half to 62.6 million euros. In addition to better business, a cost-cutting program also contributed to this. Below the line, net income more than doubled to 37.4 million euros.

By contrast, order intake in the second quarter fell by seven percent to 1.1 billion euros. Nevertheless, the order backlog at the end of June increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to 4.4 billion euros. "The industry is investing heavily in production facilities for electric cars and in the sustainable transformation of its plants," Dürr CEO Weyrauch said.

Major projects were being received in Eastern Europe, China and the USA, among others. Most recently, Dürr received a major order in Asia to build a CO2-free high-tech paint shop. By contrast, orders declined in Environmental and Battery Production Systems (Clean Technology Systems). In the woodworking machinery market in particular, demand also weakened significantly in view of high interest and inflation rates.

Based on the good order situation, full-year profits are expected to continue to rise to between 4.5 and 4.8 billion euros. 2022 sales had increased by 22 percent to 4.3 billion euros.

By contrast, the company sees the margin measured in terms of adjusted operating profit significantly higher in 2023 - it is expected to improve from 5.4 percent to 6.0 to 7.0 percent. In the previous year, it had still declined slightly. Earnings after taxes are expected to rise to between 160 million and 210 million euros./mne/jcf/mis