Half Year Report 2007HUBER+SUHNER recorded high double-digit growth once again in the first half of 2007. With group profit up on the prior year figure, the company has seamlessly followed on from the previous record year in 2006. HUBER+SUHNER has taken advantage of the ongoing strong economy and positive market factors, primarily in Asia and Europe, made successful advances with new products and gained additional market share for a range of applications.
Order intake rose by 12.7% compared with the prior-year period to CHF 409.5 million, while sales wentup by 12.8% to CHF 363.0 million (in the core business, i.e. excluding Polymer Solutions, sales actually rose by 18.2%). Operating profit (EBIT) grew by a more modest 1.5% to CHF 46.8 million in the first half of 2007; this was in line with expectations. The higher cost base in global production areas and the significant shift in the product mix slowed the increase in operating profit. The sale of the non-core Polymer Solutions division’s Compounds business unit contributed CHF 3 million to EBIT. Another positive step in the first half of 2007 was the continued cost discipline. Operating expenditure grew less rapidly than sales, for example, thereby reducing the figure as a percentage of sales from 26% to 24.7% compared with the previous year. The EBIT margin was a very solid 12.9% due to the high sales growth and low increase in fixed costs.
The financial result was up on the previous year at CHF 6 million due to the favourable exchange rates for the CHF against both the EUR and the GBP. The tax rate increased to 20% compared with 16.9% in the previous year as loss carryforwards for various Group companies no longer exist. The net income figure of CHF 42.3 million represents a further 6% rise compared with the previous year (CHF 39.9 million), and the return on sales (ROS) reached a high level of 11.6% (previous year, 12.4%).
