Packaging

Krones unveils half-year figures and confirms targets for 2012

Wednesday 25. July 2012 - With the figures for the first half of 2012, Krones, the world's market leader for beverage filling and packaging technology is well on track to reach its targets for the year as a whole, and significantly improving its consolidated earnings.

Sales in the first six months of 2012 were up by 2.6 % on the preceding year’s equivalent figure, from 1,257.5 to 1,289.7 million euros. Sales growth is predicted to accelerate during the year’s second half. Whereas sales in Europe fell slightly, the company’s turnover outside Europe rose by 8.6 % on a like-for-like basis.
In all, during the first half of 2012, Krones achieved just under 62 % of its consolidated sales outside Europe.
From January to June 2012, Krones received orders worth 1,327.8 million euros, up by 0.3 % on the preceding year’s good figure of 1,323.4 million euros. During the period under review, Krones firstly benefited from being able as a complete-coverage vendor to offer entire single-sourced job packages, and secondly, the regionally diversified nature of the group’s operations is of particular value in times where the economies in some parts of the world are ailing.
Krones’ innovations, like the new, modularised generation of Modulfill fillers and the Contiform 3 stretch blow-moulding machine for producing plastic bottles, have been well received by customers.
Order on hand effective 30 June 2012 totalled 980.4 million euros (preceding year: 974.6 million euros).
As expected, earnings before taxes (EBT) were after six months down on the preceding year’s high level, decreasing by 7.5 % from 69.2 to 64.0 million euros.
The EBT margin, meaning the pretax earnings in relation to turnover, came to 5.0 % during the year’s first half (preceding year: 5.5 %). After taxes, during the first six months of 2012 Krones earned 44.2 million euros, 10.2 % less than in the preceding year’s equivalent period (49.2 million euros). Earnings per share fell from 1.62 to 1.47 euros. The fact that in the period under review EBT, the EBT margin and earnings per share all decreased on a like-for-like comparison is due to the unusually strong first six months of 2011. The business figures for the year’s second quarter, however, are fully in line with the original budget.
Outlook
In the second quarter of 2012, the prospects for the global economy deteriorated. In Europe, particularly, the debt crisis is putting an ever-increasing brake on business activity. The markets in the newly industrialising and developing countries, by contrast, continue to look quite auspicious for further growth. About 60 % of Krones’ consolidated turnover comes from emerging markets. On the basis of trends in the company’s markets and the uncertain macro-economic prospects, Krones anticipates that its turnover will rise by up to 4 % in 2012 compared to the preceding year’s figure.
Krones is aiming in 2012 for a substantial increase in consolidated earnings compared to the previous year. With the figures for the year’s first half, we are well on track to achieving this goal, since earnings in the second half of 2012 are set to significantly exceed the preceding year’s figure for July-December. The EBT margin should exceed 5 % over 2012 as a whole (preceding year: 3.0 %).
According to a forecast from the IMF, the global economy will in 2013 perform slightly better than the forecasts of 2012. This estimate, however, is subject to uncertainties, and is conditional upon there being no additional deterioration in the Eurozone’s debt crisis. Krones will accordingly be intensifying its efforts to once again in 2013 achieve its medium-term growth corridor, meaning turnover growth averaging 5 to 7 %, and to further improve the EBT margin.