“2019-2020 speaks of eleven months of growth and one of slowdown caused by the pandemic. I would say that we can be satisfied with what we have done, given the difficult conditions“, explains Thomas Leissing, spokesman for the management of the Egger group regarding the figures for the end of the financial year from May 2019 to April 2020.”It was difficult to manage this situation, but we were able to limit the damage and respond effectively to the restrictions imposed by the emergency”.
Overall, Egger’s numbers remain stable and mark a turnover of 2.83 billion euros, down 0.4 percent from last year, while Ebitda recorded a 0.1 percent decline, amounting to 424 million euros, with a margin of 15 percent (as in the previous year). These numbers, seen in the light of the emergency, allow the German group to hope well for the future. “It is currently not easy to make predictions for 2021”, continued Leissing. “We are in a state of uncertainty because we are closely linked to the developments of the emergency and any new restrictions, but our structure has withstood the impact and we are sure that the situation will improve“.
The numbers speak of a marked “regionalism”, with important differences, in terms of sales, in the various areas. Sales in Western Europe declined, while sales in Central and Eastern Europe and North America increased. In central Europe, Egger achieved a turnover of 886.6 million euros (up 2.8 percent compared to the previous year), and also recorded a 5.8 percent growth in the turnover of Eastern Europe ( 886.5 million euros). If in almost all areas the group recorded a positive sign, this did not happen in Western Europe, the most affected by the severe restrictive rules adopted to combat the pandemic and by the temporary closures of plants in France and the United Kingdom, generating sales for 663 million euros, but registering a decline of 7.1 percent compared to 2018-2019. In North America, turnover increased by 14.2 percent to 137.3 million euros. Wooden floors, with a turnover of 441 million euros, recorded a 1.3 percent decline compared to the previous year.
The other segments – which include the Brilon sawmill, Germany, smaller independent divisions and other group functions – generated total revenues of 173.7 million euros. The trend in earnings also clearly varied and fell in April.
While there has been a decline in turnover, Egger has not stopped investing, increasing its workforce and exceeding 10 thousand employees, almost 9 million cubic meters of wood-based materials processed, and adding new plants: a production plant in Biskupiec, Poland, and the twentieth plant in Lexington, North Carolina, recently inaugurated and which represents the first in North America for the German group. “We are optimistic for 2021”, said Ulrich Bühler from the sales and marketing department. “We have taken quick and effective measures and have proved to be a reliable partner“. Stability after the storm.
