Page 62 - ITAtube Journal 2/2019

Member News
The new press shop as part of the joint venture with Porsche will set new standards for the automotive industry both in terms of performance in industrial manufacturing and in the digital net- working of data streams in the production process.
€ 1,212 billion (previous year: € 1,220 billion). The regions of Europe and China grew, while business in North America suf- fered signi cant losses.
Sales margins were subject to multiple burdens. The challenges posed by the new WLTP test proce- dure for automobile manufacturers led, particularly in Germany, both to the abandonment of new capac- ities and to the postponement of already agreed projects. At the same time, costs rose due to the collective wage agreements from recent years. Customer business in China suffered from the trade con- ict between China and the USA.
In 2018, Schuler had extraordinary expenses in the low double-digit million range due to capacity adjustments within the Group and write-downs on the capitalized goodwill of the die manufactur- ing subsidiary AWEBA. EBITA fell to € 45.3 (111.9) million. Schuler achieved consolidated earnings after tax of € 13.5 (67.4) million.
Cautious optimism for 2019 and beyond
At the end of 2018, Schuler’s equity capital ratio of 40.1 (38.1) percent of the balance sheet total was still above average in the German mechanical and plant engineering sector. The company employed 6,575 (6,570) people worldwide, 4,195 (4,237) of them in Germany – which is barely any fewer than in the previous year.
CFO Norbert Broger said: “2018 was a very challenging year in terms of operation and strategy. This is why it was all the more important that we were able to reverse the negative trend in incoming orders and achieve an increase of ten percent for the rst time. We therefore entered the new year with a decent order backlog of € 926 million. There- fore, and thanks to the cost reduction measures already ini- tiated, we are con dent that we will be able to show medium-term earnings improvements”.
Concentration on the pro table core business
Irrespective of the positive order development, the pressure to adapt remains high, especially in Germany, said CEO Iacovelli. “In 2018, we therefore began making Schuler more dynamic and bring- ing customer-driven innovations to market more quickly. The aim is to concentrate on the Group’s
Schuler intends to gain new market shares through consistent digitalization.
Schuler Group gures (IFRS) 2018 2017*
New orders € million 1,255.1 1,141.0
Order backlog € million 926.1 913.7
Sales € million 1,212.1 1,220.0
EBITDA € million 71.5 136.2
EBITDA margin % 5.9 11.2
EBITA € million 45.3 111.9
EBITA margin % 3.7 9.2
EBT € million 18.0 101.1
EBT margin % 1.5 8.3
Group pro t € million 13.5 67.4
Total statement of nancial positions € million 1,233.9 1,302.5
Shareholders’ equity € million 495.0 496.0
Equity ratio % 40.1 38.1
Cash ow from investment activities € million -16.4 18.3
Employees incl. apprentices persons 6,575 6,570
- Germany 4,195 4,237
- In foreign countries 2,380 2,333
- China 1,337 1,341
Schuler AG
Schussenstraße 11 88250 Weingarten Germany
Tel: +497514012166 Fax: +497514012694
info@schulergroup.com www.schulergroup.coM
* gures adjusted in accordance with IFRS 9 and 15
ITAtube Journal No2/May 2019
62