The Rieter Group increased their sales in 2017 by 2% over the previous year to CHF 965.6 million.
Rieter posted strong growth in the second half of the year with sales reaching CHF 550.4 million, as compared with CHF 415.2 million in the first half of 2017. The acquisition of SSM in the Components Business Group and a strong increase in deliveries in the Machines & Systems Business Group led to this sales growth. In the Components Business Group, sales (without acquisition) were 11% down on the previous year, mainly due to lower sales of technology components in India. The After Sales Business Group posted positive growth, increasing sales by 3%.
In Asia (excluding China, India and Turkey), sales increased by 11% to CHF 319.1 million. At CHF 184.0 million, a good level of sales was achieved in China, despite a slight decline of 1%. Sales in India fell 5% to CHF 173.8 million, a development attributable in particular to lower sales of technology components. Sales in Turkey fell 16% to CHF 100.1 million, mainly due to a sluggish order intake for new machines in the first half of the year. Orders in the U.S. and Brazil led to sales of CHF 114.7 million in the North and South America region, an increase of 32%.
In the 2017 financial year, the order intake increased by 16% to CHF 1,051.5 million, thus the upturn seen in the first half of 2017 continued.
The order intake of the Machines & Systems Business Group rose by 13% to CHF 668.2 million. According to Rieter, the growth in order intake in Asian countries (excluding China, India and Turkey) was satisfactory. Uzbekistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia in particular contributed to this growth, with classic ring spinning systems being especially popular in these countries. The order intake in China was up on the previous year, thanks also to initial orders for the J 26 air-jet spinning machine. In India, investment restraint caused by the introduction of a harmonized sales tax (GST) led to a decline in order intake, even though demand picked up again slightly towards the end of the year. After a hesitant first half, demand from the key market Turkey gained greater momentum in the second half. Some major projects were realized in the U.S. and Brazil, resulting in a higher order volume in the North and South America region.
The order intake of the After Sales Business Group rose by 14% to CHF 154.8 million. Both spare parts and after-sales service businesses contributed to this growth. The increased order volume in new machine business resulted in higher demand for installation services in the After Sales Business Group. Focused sales efforts and service offerings allowed After Sales to continue the positive growth that began in 2015.
The order intake of the Components Business Group grew by around 28% to CHF 228.5 million. The acquisition of SSM Textile Machinery contributed CHF 42.5 million to this positive growth from the second half of the year. The order intake was broadly supported regionally and across the entire portfolio. Only the technology components business for compact spinning systems decreased from the previous year.
The order backlog of around CHF 540 million at the end of 2017 was CHF 100 million higher than the previous year.