Feintool International Holding AG : Feintool Group 2011 abridged year media release: Feintool boosts orders received and sales in abridged year as well

Feintool Group 2011 abridged year media release: Feintool boosts orders received and sales in abridged year as well

24.01.2012

The Feintool Group continued its positive business trend from 1 October to 31 December 2011. At CHF 100 million, the company received 4.6% more orders than in the same period of the previous year. Group sales rose by 11% to CHF 101 million, while the order backlog rocketed by 28% to CHF 186 million. Despite the persistently negative currency situation, Feintool achieved a positive result in the abridged year as well. The company anticipates a stable trend over the coming months.

In the 2011 abridged year (resulting from the changeover of the financial reporting system to the calendar year), the Feintool Group continued to benefit from the automotive industry's successful development. Despite the persistently negative influence of the currency situation on all financial figures, the technology company achieved a positive result. Compared with the same period of the previous year, Feintool boosted its sales across the Group by 11.2% to CHF 101.2 million. Growth of sales in the individual business areas developed unevenly: the Fineblanking Technology and Automation segments, which are geared towards long-term capital goods, enjoyed considerable sales increases of 24.7% and 37.5%, respectively. The System Parts segment, which deals in more cyclical series parts, grew sales by 3.4%.

Positive outlook
Business is already shaping up well for Feintool in 2012. For the 2012 calendar year, we anticipate consolidated sales of CHF 350-390 million and an EBIT margin of 4 to 6%.

Key financial figures in brief

Figuresin CHF	31.12.2011 (CHF million)	31.12.2010 (CHF million)	Change in %	Changein % (after adj. for currencies)
Sales
- Segment FineblankingTechnology	29.4	23.6	24.7	26.3
- Segment System Parts	58.7	56.8	3.4	8.1
- Segment Automation	16.7	12.1	37.5	47.3
Total Feintool Group	101.2	91.0	11.2	15.9
Orders received
- Segment Fineblanking Technology	22.8	33.5	-32.0	-31.5
- Segment System Parts	59.3	64.8	-8.5	-4.4
- Segment Automation	21.0	12.3	70.1	82.2
Total Feintool Group	99.99	95.95	4.6	9.1
Order backlog
- Segment Fineblanking Technology	42.4	50.4	-15.9
- Segment System Parts	105.1	93.3	12.6
- Segment Automation	46.8	24.5	91.1
Total FeintoolGroup	186.2	144.9	28.5

For more information, please contact Karin Labhart, Media Spokesperson, at any time by calling [phone] or e-mailing .

Orders received rise overallAt Group level, orders received were up 4.6% to CHF 100 million compared with the same period of the previous year. The very pleasing increase in orders (70.1%) in the automation business compensated fully for the subdued level of orders received in the Fineblanking Technology segment. The decline of 32.0% in the latter is due to the loss of internal orders. Orders received from third parties were up by 6.8% to CHF 19.7 million. The figure for System Parts was down by 8.5% year on year, which was almost entirely due to lower euro and US dollar exchange rates.Strong order backlog for capital goodsCompared with the same period of the previous year, the order backlog grew by 28.5% across the Group to CHF 186.2 million. Although the amount for Fineblanking Technology fell by 15.9%, the backlog still covers the next 6 to 8 months. The order backlog for the automation business almost doubled, corresponding to guaranteed utilization of capacity for almost a year.