Order intake, sales revenues, earnings and free cash flow recorded double-digit rates of growth. Order intake rose by 14% to €1,577.1 million (previous year: €1,384.2 million). Sales revenues increased by 10% to €1,215.1 million (previous year: €1,108.0 million) - export share was 68% (previous year: 69%). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to €93.0 million (+20%; previous year: €77.6 million). Free cash flow improved by €90.9 million to €67.2 million (previous year: -€3.7 million).
Chairman of the Executive Board Christian Thönes said: “DMG Mori continues to develop positively – technologically, structurally and culturally. We continue our profitable growth and consistently strengthen our integrated automation and digitisation solutions.”
As at 30 June 2018, the order backlog amounted to €1,658.5 million (31 Dec. 2017: €1,309.1 million). The high order backlog and the very high capacity utilisation at the production plants are causing longer delivery times at present. The company says it is “counteracting this development with stronger flexibility measures and our sound business relationships with our partners and suppliers”.
On 30 June 2018, the group had 7,310 employees (31 Dec. 2017: 7,101), of whom 343 were trainees. The rise in employee numbers occurred in particular in service-side employees, both nationally and internationally. At the end of the first half year, 4,309 employees (59%) worked in its domestic companies and 3,001 employees (41%) for international companies.
Expenditure on research and development in the first half year amounted to € 28.2 million (previous year: €25.3 million). In financial year 2018, the company will present a total of 11 world premieres, together with its Japanese side, DMG Mori Company Ltd - seven have already been revealed.
The global economy and the worldwide market for machine tools are expected to continue to grow in 2018, although with less dynamism, due to geo-political uncertainties. In its April forecast, the German Association of Machine Tool Builders (VDW) and the British economic research institute, Oxford Economics said growth in global consumption of 5.9% to €75.2 billion was expected, despite the looming slowdown in the global economy.
The next forecast of the VDW and Oxford Economics will be published in October. In DMG Mori’s view, that 5.9% for 2018 is conservative. So, the company says it still plans to achieve order intake of about €2.7 billion, after having already raised its forecast in the first quarter. So, for sales revenues, the company is expecting about €2.55 billion (previously: about €2.45 billion).
Earlier this year, in May, DMG Mori Company Ltd, which is the major shareholder in DMG Mori AG, unveiled record high consolidated order intake for the first quarter, plus some technology developments. Read more here.
And read more about DMG Mori's 2018 Pfronten Open House here.
