SWITZERLAND-Bobst Group announced stable results for the previous year. According to the company organic sales in local currencies increased by 6.8% in 2015. Operating profit decreased by CHF 6 million, from CHF 81.7 million in 2014 to CHF 75.4 million in 2015. Order entries were 6% and backlog 8% higher compared to previous year.
Bobst Group started 2015 with a slightly higher backlog of orders than the year before. Both machine business units recorded higher order entries in 2015 than the previous year, which supported the increase in sales. The Group finished the reporting year with a higher backlog than in 2014. The Business Unit Sheet-fed will start 2016 with a good backlog, whereas the Business Unit Web-fed will start slightly below the previous year.
For the full year 2015, consolidated sales increased by CHF 31 million, or 2.4%, to CHF 1.331 billion. Adjusted for currency effects and acquisitions, organic sales were up 6.8% in 2015. The acquisition of Nuova Gidue Srl contributed CHF 27 million to the sales increase. Negative currency effects reduced sales by CHF 84 million.
The company reported a net result of CHF 59.2 million compared with CHF 53.0 million in 2014, but also a continued strong cash inflow from operating activities of CHF 104.8 million. The Swiss-based Group achieved consolidated sales of CHF 1.331 billion in 2015, an increase 2.4% (CHF 31 million).
Adjusted for currency effects and acquisitions, organic sales were up 6.8% in 2015. The operating result (EBIT) was CHF 75.4 million (CHF 81.7 million in 2014), while the net result was CHF 59.2 million (CHF 53.0 million in 2014). Net debt reduced from CHF 17.7 million in 2014 to CHF 0.9 million in 2015. The return on capital employed (ROCE) reached 12.3% (12.6% in 2014) which is above the Group’s cost of capital.
An improvement in some countries, including the UK, Spain, Germany and Italy, was partly eroded by lower sales in Eastern Europe. Sales in the Americas increased by CHF 5 million. The positive momentum of growth in the US continued, but sales in Brazil decreased again. Sales in Asia suffered mainly from the general slow-down in China and decreased by CHF 17 million.
The Group confirms the guidance published in December 2015, that it expects to reach sales of CHF 1.300 to 1.350 billion in 2016.
