Bobst grows turnover

For the full-year 2013, consolidated sales increased by 90 million CHF (100 million USD) to 1.4 billion CHF (1.6 billion USD). Sales in the second half of 2013 reached 791 million CHF (881 million USD) compared with 563 million CHF (627 million USD) in the first six months of the year, and to 731 million CHF (814 million USD) versus the second half of 2012.

All three business units and all geographical regions of the world had a positive contribution to the sales growth.

Sales of sheet-fed products increased by 7.6 percent compared to the previous year. Products for the folding carton industry, as well as products for the corrugated equipment industry, contributed to this improvement leading to a turnover of 639 million CHF for the year.

Sales of web-fed products increased by 8.7 percent and achieved 336 million CHF for the year 2013, close to the all-time-high achieved in 2008.

Sales of services and spare parts increased by 5.9 percent to 377 million CHF, demonstrating the successful implementation of the group’s service strategy, Bobst said.

Geographical distribution showed a general increase in all zones, mainly in the Americas, which grew by 16.6 percent in terms of value and also increased its share of overall sales by 2.3 percent. Europe remained Bobst biggest business zone, accounting for 43.6 percent of sales in 2013 at a value of 590 million CHF. Its contribution to sales dipped slightly from 45.1 percent in 2012.

By value, Asia and Oceania saw sales in 2013 grow 3.5 percent year-on-year, while sales in Africa grew by 7.9 percent to 41 million CHF.

In its outlook for 2014, Bobst said that due to very good sales in the second half of 2013, the group started 2014 with a slightly lower backlog of orders than the year before. Nevertheless, it anticipates a good utilization of production capacities for the first months of the year.

At the present level of order intake, Bobst predicts that it should reach sales close to 1.3 billion CHF in 2014 as previously indicated.