Schweizer exceeds projected sales figures for 2020

EBITDA amounted to EUR -9.5 million for the full year, compared to EUR 0.1 million during the previous year. Annual result amounted to EUR -17.9 million, compared to EUR -5.6 million during the year before. At the end of 2020, the order book stood at EUR 109.2 million, compared to EUR 126.7 million in 2019. "In view of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformation process of our most important customer group – the European automotive industry – and the current expansion of our new high-tech plant in Jintan (China), we achieved a lot in the 2020 financial year. Of course, we are not satisfied with a decline in total annual sales of -18.6 percent and an EBITDA ratio of -9.7 percent. However, we are well prepared for the future due to the successful implementation of restructuring measures in Schramberg and the expansion of capacity thanks to our plant in China," says Marc Bunz, Chief Financial Officer of Schweizer Electronic in a press release. With sales of EUR 29.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, the development of sales has, as the company puts it, recovered significantly in comparison to the previous quarters of the year. Particularly characteristic of this positive development is the increased demand from automotive customers with a 73.5% share of turnover from September onwards. The share of sales in the non-automotive sector developed also positively, rising to 26.5% (2019: 23.8%). Gross profit on sales amounted to EUR 0.4 million (previous year: EUR 12.6 million). The gross margin fell from 10.5% in the previous year to 0.4%. The main reasons for the decline were, on the one hand, the production costs of EUR 15.8 million for the newly built plant in Jintan, China, which were included in the cost of sales for the first time, and the negative gross earnings contribution generated by the new plant as a result of the ramp-up phase. On the other hand, the main reason for the lower gross profit was the decline in business volume due to the pandemic. Special expenses from the restructuring and a bad debt loss of EUR 2.9 million and the start-up losses of the new plant in Jintan of EUR 8.3 million impacted the EBITDA in 2020. For 2021, the company expects a significant recovery of sales figures, whereby the dynamics of Schweizer's recovery will largely depend on two factors, in addition to the development of the coronavirus pandemic; firstly the continued positive development of the new plant in Jintan, and secondly the the stability of supply chains in a global context. A sustained shortage of components can lead to a limitation in both customer demand and supplier offers. The group expects sales growth of between 20% and 30% in 2021 and an improvement in the EBITDA ratio to 0% to -6% in terms of sales.