According to preliminary figures, the Homag Group’s order intake of Eur 1,706 million matched the record level of the previous year (Eur 1,713 million). “We therefore look back on the second year in a row with an exceptionally high level of order intake”, emphasizes ceo Dr. Daniel Schmitt. “We are almost 30 percent above previous record levels here”. The Homag Group recorded particularly high demand in North America in the 2022 fiscal year, with an increase of around 45 percent. The order book increased to Eur 1,102 million as at December 31, 2022 (previous year: Eur 996 million).
An increase in sales by 17 percent to Eur 1,602 million (previous year: Eur 1,366 million) represents a new record level in the company’s history. EBIT before special items increased by 36 percent to Eur 124.8 million (previous year: Eur 92.0 million) and is thus also at an all-time high despite the difficult supply chain situation and high material prices. Dr. Daniel Schmitt attributes the increase in earnings in particular to the high capacity utilization as well as to the efficiency improvements of recent years, and a growing service business. As of December 31, 2022, the number of employees in the company had increased to 7,525 (12/31/2021: 7,164) as a result of the growth.
“In the furniture production sector, demand was once again exceptionally high in the first half of the year and subsequently declined as expected,” said Dr. Schmitt, summarizing the course of the fiscal year. “The business with production equipment for climate-friendly timber houses continues to develop positively, with its share of sales increasing to almost 15 percent”.
The Homag Group continues to see good prospects for growth especially in the area of timber construction, which is mainly due to the trend towards sustainable construction. Commenting on the outlook for 2023, Dr. Daniel Schmitt says: “Due to the declining demand in the furniture sector, we expect order intake to normalize in the current fiscal year after the two outstanding previous years”. In terms of sales and profit, the Homag ceo expects the positive development to continue: “We have a high order backlog. On this basis, we aim to achieve further growth in sales and earnings in 2023”.
