The business situation has stabilised again for Schweizer

Following a sharp drop in sales during the second quarter, sales within the company’s largest customer group rose again significantly in the third quarter. With a turnover of EUR 23.6 million (2019: EUR 34.1 million), sales increased by 31.7% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, which was weak due to the pandemic. As a result, total sales for the first three quarters of 2020 amounted to EUR 69.0 million, which corresponds to a decline of 26.8% compared to the previous year. Schweizer says that new Jintan/China plant, which went into production successfully in the middle of the year, generated sales of EUR 4.1 million during its the first 9 months. Incoming orders in the third quarter amounted to EUR 23.4 million, while delivery schedules were largely reduced in the second quarter. Incoming orders in the first three quarters totalled EUR 38.7 million, which corresponds to a decline of 36.2% compared to the same period in the previous year. The order book at the end of the third quarter amounted to EUR 101.7 million (31/12/2019: EUR 126.7 million). During the second and third quarter of 2020, short-time work was carried out both for production and administration in order to reduce the break-even point of the Schramberg plant. Compared to September 2019, the number of employees in Schramberg was reduced by around 10% at the end of the third quarter of 2020. Schweizer aslo said that it recoded costs for special expenses – in particular from restructuring – which impacted the earnings for the first nine months with a total of EUR -1.8 million. EBITDA improved in the third quarter, but remained negative at EUR -2.3 million. EBITDA for the first three quarters amounted to EUR -7.9 million (2019: EUR 2.9 million). Schweizer’s business situation stabilised in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter. And the executive board expects this recovery trend to continue in the fourth quarter of 2020. This forecast is supported by a positive development in order momentum and an increasing business volume at the new location in China. Nevertheless, the company is unlikely to be able to fully reach the level of the previous year. As a result, the company confirms the sales forecast which was adjusted in July to be between EUR 87 million and EUR 93 million.