OC Oerlikon cuts annual outlook as orders drop on weak China demand (updated)
03/08/2023 06:07
(Adds CEO quote in paragraph 2, context and more figures
throughout)
Aug 3 (Reuters) - Swiss industrial group OC Oerlikon
OERL.S on Thursday cut its EBITDA margin target for 2023 as
order intake fell in the second quarter due to weak filament
fibre demand from China.
"We see an extremely difficult market backdrop in our
filament business," Oerlikon's Executive Chairman Michael Suess
said.
The group expects to report an operating profit margin
of 15.5% for the full year, down from a previous forecast of 16%
to 16.5%.
Its key polymer processing business, which brought up
half of 2022 sales, struggled through low demand for synthetic
fibre in China - the division's top market. Oerlikon made most
of its sales in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) last year.
Polymer processing sales dropped almost by a fifth in
April-June, while orders plunged 38% to 263 million Swiss francs
($299.5 million).
Overall order intake for the group sank 15% and was at
657 million Swiss francs for the quarter.
Oerlikon, a market leader in machinery for synthetic
fibre production, reported a 4.4% drop in sales to 702 million
Swiss francs, while operational EBITDA lost 13.8% and was at 111
million Swiss francs by end-June.
($1 = 0.8781 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sonia
Cheema)
((Andrey.Sychev2@thomsonreuters.com))