A statement released by HOMAG revealed that the group has registered strong demand in Q3 2021 again. As a result, order intake after the first nine months has already exceeded the previous full-year record achieved in 2017. The company increased its operating result more than three-fold over the previous year.
Compared to the first nine months of 2020, the HOMAG Group’s order intake climbed by 82% to €1,390 million, compared to €763 million in the previous year.
“Last year had, of course, been heavily influenced by the coronavirus pandemic,” explained Ralf W. Dieter, CEO of HOMAG Group. “However, the substantial record in new orders at the end of the first three quarters testifies to the current strong demand for our solutions.”
According to HOMAG, sales increased by 22% to €1,017 million, compared to €833 million in the previous year, while the order backlog also reached a record figure of €1,008 million as of 30 Sep 2021, compared to €461 million in 30 Sep 2020. The HOMAG Group increased its operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) more than three-fold to €66.7 million, compared to €20.8 million in the previous year.
“Order intake grew sharply for stand-alone machines and increasingly also in systems business with large-scale plants,” Dieter added. “This is evident in all regions worldwide, with the highest growth rates achieved in China and in Europe with a strong German market.” Among other things, HOMAG attributes the significant increase in service business to the fact that many customers are operating at high capacity utilisation and require more spare parts.
HOMAG is also experiencing supply chain constraints, particularly with regard to electronic components. Dieter explained: “We are also feeling the effects of the global supply chain problems in the form of repeated sporadic shortfalls. Our global purchasing teams are working flat out here to ensure the shortest possible delivery times for our customers.”
The group claimed that the solid wood segment, which is composed of the HOMAG Group’s business in production systems for timber house construction, received its largest order ever in Q3. “Under this order, we are supplying the production equipment for a new factory in which timber construction elements, such as walls and ceilings, are to be manufactured in large quantities and on a highly automated basis,” explained Dr Daniel Schmitt, a member of the Board of Management, who will be taking over as CEO of HOMAG Group effective 1 Jan 2022. “This large-scale project offers great potential for the future and marks an important step on the way towards the industrialisation of wood element construction. We continue to see great opportunities for future growth in this segment.”
