Another quarter of growth for Homag, the German group specialized in woodworking solutions. Indeed, sales of the German giant increased by 10.1 per cent in Q1 2023 to Eur 403.8 million (Q1 2022: Eur 366.8 million). At Eur 27.0 million, Ebit before special items was slightly above the previous year’s level (Eur 26.8 million). The result includes, among other things, increased research and development expenses for product innovations to be presented at the leading trade fair, Ligna. As of 31 March 2023, the Homag Group had 7,570 employees (31 March 2022: 7,274).
Positive numbers in sales, however, are confronted with a physiological decline in orders, as explained by the German company in the press conference held at Ligna. In Q1 2023, orders amounted to Eur 353 million (Q1 2022: Eur 574 million). ‘We had anticipated this slowdown in orders,’ emphasised ceo Daniel Schmitt. “We look back on two years of exceptionally high investment from our customers, with an all-time high in the first quarter of 2022. Since mid-2022 we have seen a normalisation of orders. It is encouraging, however, that order intake in the first three months of 2023 is above the level of the fourth quarter of 2022, which had been rather subdued“.
The order book decreased to Eur 1,036 million as of 31 March 2023 (31 March 2022: Eur 1,213 million).
