The Manmade Fibers Segment of Oerlikon Group continued its success streak, significantly boosting orders and sales in the second quarter of this year.
The second-quarter order intake increased by 45.4% over the year before to CHF 282 million, and sales to third parties climbed 81.9% to CHF 271 million. EBITDA was CHF 32 million, as compared with CHF 3 million in the second quarter of 2017.
The filament equipment market, led primarily by China, was the main contributor to the excellent top-line improvement, and was strongly supported by business wins for texturing, carpet yarn (bulked continuous filament, BCF) and polymer processing equipment and systems. In the second quarter, segment sales doubled in China, and tripled in India and North America.
The segment significantly improved operating profitability with an EBITDA margin of 11.8% for second quarter 2018, while continuing to ramp up production capacities to manage the significant increase in orders. EBIT for second quarter 2018 stood at CHF 26 million (second quarter 2017: minus CHF 2 million) and the EBIT margin was 9.5% (second quarter 2017: minus 1.2%).
In the second quarter, the segment acquired AC-Automation, a Germany-based engineering company, enabling the segment to integrate additional large-scale plant automation solutions for customers in the textile industry. The segment also announced the divestment of its technology solutions for tape and monofilament plants to the Austrian Starlinger Group, allowing the segment to focus on its filament, staple fiber and nonwovens businesses. For its nonwovens business, the segment received a new order from Germany, and foresees a promising pipeline, especially in Europe and Asia.