Rieter Increased Order Intake in the Fourth Quarter of 2020
Thus, the recovery that began in the third quarter of 2020 after the slump in demand in the second quarter continued (order intake second quarter: CHF 45.7 million, third quarter: CHF 174.4 million).
Overall, Rieter’s annual order intake for the 2020 financial year totaled CHF 640.2 million, which corresponds to a decrease of 31% compared to the previous year.
At the end of 2020, the company had an order backlog of about CHF 560 million (December 31, 2019: about CHF 500 million).
As expected, as a consequence of the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Rieter Group closed the 2020 financial year with considerably lower sales than in the previous year. According to the first, as yet unaudited figures, total sales of CHF 573.0 million were achieved, which corresponds to a decrease of 25% compared to the previous year (2019: CHF 760.0 million).
Order Intake by Business Group
All three business groups were affected by the slump in demand in the second quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the recovery in order intake in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, the weak second quarter was only partially offset.
The Business Group Machines & Systems was particularly hard hit by the effects of the pandemic, with a year-on-year decline of 35%. The Business Groups Components and After Sales each recorded a 24% reduction in order intake.
Sales in the Business Group Machines&Systems to Decline by 24%
The exceptional market situation in 2020 gave rise to a significant decline in sales in all three business groups. Accordingly, reluctance to invest and deferred deliveries by customers caused sales in the Business Group Machines&Systems to decline by 24% compared to the previous year.
Due to Covid-19, a large number of spinning mills stopped production worldwide. This led to low demand for spare parts and wear parts, especially in the second and third quarters of 2020. Accordingly, compared to the previous year, sales in the Business Groups Components and After Sales fell by 24% and 27% respectively in the 2020 financial year.
Rieter’ Turkey Sales Increased 83 Percent
With the exception of Turkey, all regions were affected by the low demand as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Turkey, thanks to the innovative range of products and services, Rieter benefited from customers’ willingness to invest in the year under review, increasing sales by 83% to CHF 122.0 million.
Thanks to the improved capacity utilization, Rieter is planning short-time working in only a few areas in the first half of 2021. Nevertheless, Rieter expects sales in the first half of 2021 to be below the break-even point.