Komax hurt by solar in the first half of 2012

In the first half of 2012, Komax said they felt the repercussions of the ongoing crisis in the photovoltaics industry and the reticent ordering behaviour of customers in the Medtech area. As a result, revenues declined by 23.0% to CHF 142.3 million. The operating profit (EBIT) was at CHF 9.0 million (–66.2%), and Group profit after taxes came in at CHF 9.0 million (previous year: CHF 17.0 million), which equates to a net profit margin of 6.3%. Free cash flow increased to CHF 17.2 million (previous year: CHF –10.4 million). Komax Solar and Komax Medtech facing a challenging environment The company said Komax Solar and Komax Medtech suffered from a weakness in demand in their markets. Komax Solar’s order intake in the first half of 2012 was at just CHF 4.3 million (previous year: CHF 53.4 million), while net sales declined to CHF 5.8 million (previous year: CHF 43.9 million). EBIT came in at CHF –10.2 million (previous year: CHF 2.4 million). The order intake for Komax Medtech virtually halved to CHF 25.5 million (previous year: CHF 47.6 million). Net sales amounted to CHF 31.0 million (previous year: CHF 38.6 million). EBIT slid into the red and stood at CHF –3.1 million (previous year: CHF 1.8 million).