Textile orders rise slightly at Oerlikon in Q1

Business volume remained strong with order intake and sales at levels comparable to the prior year. Main drivers of these results were the Segments Textile and Coating, whose strong performance offset softness in the Drive Systems and Advanced Technologies Segments.

Regionally, Europe and Asia showed the strongest growth rates. Oerlikon CEO/CFO Jürg Fedier commented: “Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, we maintained earnings – largely due to our efforts to variabilize the cost base. Our Q1 results are fully in line with our expectations.”

First quarter results 2013:
- Order intake increased by 1 % year-over-year to CHF 763 million; book-to-bill ratio above 1
- Sales close to prior year level at CHF 723 million
- EBIT margin at 11.8 % (Q1 2012: 13.1 % on a like-for-like basis)
- Strong performance in Textile and Coating Segments, improvements in the Vacuum Segment, Drive Systems and Advanced Technologies Segments impacted by challenging environment
- Strong sales growth in Europe (+15 %) and China (+9 %)
- ROCE at 17.0 %
- Outlook for full year 2013 confirmed

Textile order intake increased by 10 %

Order intake for the Group grew by 1 % to CHF 763 million compared to the first quarter of 2012 (Q1 2012: CHF 756 million). The Textile Segment, its sole focus now on manmade fibers, significantly increased bookings by 10 % to CHF 290 million, representing the strongest quarterly order intake for the manmade fibers business. The Advanced Technologies Segment also recorded a boost in bookings. Order backlog for the Group at the end of the first quarter 2013 decreased by 7 % to CHF 894 million (Q1 2012: CHF 965 million).

Sales close to previous year level

The Group reported first quarter 2013 sales close to the prior year’s level at CHF 723 million (Q1 2012: CHF 737 million, -2 %). The Textile Segment contributed significantly to this result with a 13 % increase which offset declines in other businesses, notably in the Drive Systems Segment.

Drive Systems’ top line was down 16 % due to lower demand in North America’s fracturing market, a function of significant weakness in natural gas prices and reduced activity in the infrastructure and construction sectors (heavy duty off-highway equipment). Advanced Technologies Segment was down 38 % due to continued softness in the semiconductor market. The Coating Segment was close to the prior year’s level (-2 %). Vacuum Segment (-4 % year-over-year) saw first signs of recovery quarter-over-quarter.