1/14/2016
NEWS BRIEFS
Bossard Reports Record Sales Despite Challenges

+ click to enlarge
+ click to enlarge

The Bossard Group reported net sales rose by 6.2% to CHF 656.3 million (+10.1% in local currency) – boosting revenues to their highest level ever. 

“A significant portion of this growth came from the acquisitions that Bossard carried out in 2014 and 2015,” the company stated.

Excluding acquisitions, Bossard sales declined 4.2% to CHF 592.1 million; in local currency, there was a slight decrease of 0.7%.

 

A mixture of highs and lows in Europe

For its European business, Bossard reported sales growth of 4.6% in local currency. 

“The appreciation of the Swiss franc at the start of the 2015 fiscal year led to a decrease in sales of 2.9% to CHF 383.4 million,” the company stated. “This situation reflects the persistently difficult demand situation in some European markets, especially in Switzerland.”

 

Successes in the U.S.

In its American business, Bossard grew in a new dimension thanks to the acquisition of Aero-Space Southwest, Inc. 

“With this acquisition, the Group solidified its presence in key industrial locations in California, Arizona and Mexico. This expansion is clearly shown in the sales figures for the year as a whole.”

U.S. sales increased 36.2% to CHF 166.2 million (+29.6% in local currency). Bossard’s American business also grew significantly in the fourth quarter by 35.8% to CHF 39.8 million (+37.2% in local currency).

“In our existing American business, we benefited from an increasingly close collaboration with the largest US manufacturer of electric vehicles, which is reflected in the significantly higher sales volumes.”

Sales in the existing U.S. business rose 2.2% to CHF 124.7 million (-2.7% in local currency). 

 

Investment policy promotes further growth in Asia

Sales in Asia rose 5.5% to CHF 106.7 million (+5.2% in local currency). Demand was even stronger in some Asian markets in the fourth quarter. As a result, sales increased by 7.7% to CHF 29.4 million (+11.8% in local currency). 

“These figures reflect the positive development of new customer business. However, our Chinese business has been flat – a development that many other industrial companies are also experiencing at the moment.”