Datwyler posts 15% rise in earnings

Altdorf, Switzerland – Datwyler Group has posted strong financial results for the full year 2016 as net revenue rose 4.3% to CHF1.21 billion (€1.1 billion) while earnings spiked 15% to CHF146.1 million.

EBIT margin, said the Swiss rubber engineering group on 7 Feb, reached a record high of 12.0% in 2016. Profit (net result) rose by more than 42% to CHF116.9 million compared to the figure in 2015.

The Sealing Solutions division performed well with a 6.7% year-on-year increase in net revenue year to CHF753.3 million.  Operating result (EBIT) increased 8% to CHF136.7 million in the division.

Capacity bottlenecks in the healthcare market segment and delays to projects in the civil engineering market negatively impacted growth.

In geographical terms, Datwyler recorded strong growth in Asia in particular, followed by the NAFTA and Europe.

In terms of the healthcare market segment, elastomer components for pre-filled syringes and drug-delivery systems recorded the biggest growth.

The company has announced capacity expansions within the sector in Belgium, India and the US. Datwyler said in October 2016 that it was building a €90-million plant for injectable drug delivery systems in Delaware to be completed in 2018.

The automotive market segment also recorded improvements across all geographical regions, as China recovered from the previous year's slowdown.

Datwyler acquired German firm Ott in early October 2016 to bring new technologies and access to new niche markets in the automotive segment.

Ott is a specialist in injection moulding technology, both single- and multi-component, based on thermoplastics and liquid silicone.

In the consumer goods segment, the group said its partnership with Nespresso was developing nicely, with a new contract being negotiated for further growth.

Nespresso is currently the Datwyler Group’s largest single customer.

Datwyler’s Technical Components division, which distributes maintenance, automation, electronic and ICT components and accessories, saw a challenging market environment, particularly in the second half of 2016.

After several years of declining revenue, however, the division managed to reverse the trend in 2016 and slightly increased its net revenue to CHF462.6 million from CHF459.3 million the previous year.

Operating result (EBIT) improved significantly to CHF9.4 million from CHF0.3 million the previous year.

"Strategically speaking, both divisions at Datwyler are well positioned in attractive market segments,” said CEO Dirk Lambrecht.

According to Lambrecht, investments and acquisitions made through 2016 will help the company to grow with “further acquisitions also planned.”