Bobst has released its financial figures for last year, showing an increase in sales of 8.7 percent with the same order entries as the previous year but with a backlog down by 4 by percent due to higher sales.
Overall, the Bobst Group reported consolidated sales of CHF 1.447 billion in 2016, up from the CHF 116 million of the previous year. Adjusted for currency effects and acquisitions, organic sales were up 6.7% in 2016. Bobst acquired Nuova Gidue in 2015 and opened a new subsidiary in Turkey at the beginning of 2016, which together contributed CHF 16.1 million to the sales increase. Exchange rate variances increased sales by CHF 10.8 million.
The operating result, before tax was CHF 103.7 million, while the net result was CHF 84.3 million, up from the CHF 67.1 million of 2015. The Group showed a net cash position of CHF 51.3 million in 2016 compared to net debt of CHF 1.7 million in 2015.
Bobst saw increased orders for its Web-fed presses but this was balanced out by lower demand for its sheetfed products. Globally, Bobst did well in Asia, with its performance improving in Central and North America, but activity remained low in South America and the company experienced a slowdown in its European operations.
For 2017, Bobst is expecting to realise similar results as 2016, though with the proviso that this will be an “unpredictable year” due to new political leaderships in several key markets.
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