The Bossard Group reported sales fell 5.7% to CHF 218.9 million (US$225.4 million) during Q1, largely as a result of the stronger Swiss franc. In local currency, the decline was 1.8%.

“In particular, business in Europe stayed the course with only a slight drop in sales of 0.2 percent in local currency, maintaining virtually the same level as last year,” the company stated.  “In Asia, where the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was most evident in the first quarter, we are seeing the first signs of market normalization, primarily in China.”

Sales in Europe dipped 0.2% in local currencies to CHF 133.1 million.  Bossard said it introduced “short-time work” in Switzerland, which will reduce employee pay by 4%.

Q1 sales in North America declined 4.3% in local currencies to CHF 54 million, which represented a 5.5% improvement over the final quarter of 2019.  With local authorities instituting stricter policies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Bossard said it “will likely face challenging weeks in this market region in the second quarter and possibly beyond.”

After a long period of uninterrupted growth, demand in Asia dropped 4.5% in local currencies to CHF 31.8 million. 

“In spite of all the challenges, we posted record sales in Taiwan as well as double-digit growth in India and Singapore.”

During Q1 Bossard acquired specialty fastener manufacturer Torp Fasteners.  Bossard has held a stake in the Oslo, Norway-based specialty fastener supplier since January 2015.

Bossard said it’s looking at a “difficult” second quarter.

“A quick recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is currently not foreseeable.  This is especially true for the European markets.  Many countries, including Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland, have drastically reduced their economic activities.”  Web: Bossard.com