Bossard generates lower sales and profit in the first half of the year

Sales fell by 11.7 percent to CHF 509.4 million in the first half of the year, as the fastening technology specialist reported on Thursday. However, negative currency effects also played a role here. In local currencies, the decline was somewhat more moderate at 9.3 percent.

Operating profit at EBIT level fell by 16.6 percent to CHF 58.1 million and the corresponding margin by 0.7 percentage points to 11.4 percent. The bottom line was a consolidated profit of 42.4 million francs, corresponding to a drop of just under 15 percent.

The challenges in the first half of the year continued to lie in the weak economic demand trend, Bossard announced at the end of the first half. However, there were signs of stabilization towards the end of the reporting period.

The pressure on the profit figures was mainly due to lower sales and investments. However, wage inflation has recently been somewhat lower and the cost-cutting measures introduced have made their contribution, Bossard reported.

America with the biggest decline

In geographical terms, Bossard's most important market, Europe, did not fare so well, accounting for over 50 percent of sales. Sales here fell by 6.8 percent in local currencies. The decline is a consequence of the cyclical slowdown in demand, which increasingly stabilized at a low level during the second quarter.

According to Bossard, demand in the Americas region has "normalized" with a drop in sales of a good 18 percent, following record sales in the past two years. The development in Mexico was "pleasing".

Sales in Asia were the most stable with a drop of 1.8 percent. In the second quarter, sales in local currencies stabilized, meaning that slight growth was achieved again for the first time in six quarters.

No signs of an economic recovery

Bossard believes that the outlook for 2024 as a whole is still characterized by uncertainty. "Based on the global purchasing managers' indices, we are not yet seeing any signs of an economic recovery," said CEO Daniel Bossard during a conference call.

"However, we see light at the end of the tunnel, as there were initial signs of stabilization towards the end of the first half of the year, particularly in Europe," said the CEO. There is therefore hope that the bottom will soon be reached. "Cautious optimism" is also evident when looking at the pipeline of orders.

Bossard also mentioned "pleasing growth rates" in rail vehicle construction, the acquisition of new customers in the electronics and semiconductor industries and in aviation, as well as good signs from India. In addition, the company did not lose any customers during the recession.