Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
Tornos makes solid start to year
Moutier, May 6, 2014 – The first quarter of 2014 shows signs of a recovery. Both new orders and sales are rising substantially and have permitted a result that is close to breakeven point.
At CHF 50.3 million (2013: CHF 43.8 million), order intake for the first quarter of 2014 is 14.9% above the year-back period, making this the best quarterly result for two years and an essential foundation for the Group's economic recuperation. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2013, orders have risen by 39.1%.
Pick-up in Asia, consolidation in southern Europe
The positive trend of recent months as regards the high level of acceptance for the latest product generation has continued. The greatest interest is coming from projects for the automotive supply industry, many of which involve multispindle products, as well as high-end products for the medical technology industry. Compared to the same period last year, there is a discernible and encouraging increase in demand from Asia, although figures for the United States fall short of expectations by a significant margin. In Europe, which accounts for around three quarters of new orders, Switzerland and Germany are the dominant markets, backed up by southern Europe, where there are signs that demand is starting to pick up again.
Marked increase in order intake causes temporary challenge
Net sales for the first quarter of 2014 total CHF 43.2 million, 27.6% above the year-back figure of CHF 33.9 million. This has brought the operating result (EBIT) close to breakeven point at CHF -0.3 million (2013: CHF -7.3 million). While this figure includes a positive contribution of CHF 0.5 million from the sale of surplus equipment, it has also been negatively impacted by the sale of expiring, low-margin products.
The gratifying rise in demand for multispindle products has confronted the Group with the temporary challenge of increasing its production volume so as to improve its delivery capabilities for the exacting projects that customers have entrusted to it.