Rieter’s order intake down 2% in Q3 2018

In the third quarter of 2018, order intake was CHF 66 million (Q3 2017: CHF 66.8 million).

The order intake recorded by the Rieter Group in the first nine months of 2018 was down by 2 per cent compared to the prior year period. The cumulative order intake was CHF 749.8 million. In the third quarter of 2018, order intake was CHF 238.0 million (Q3 2017: CHF 269.7 million). In the Business Group Machines & Systems, order intake fell to CHF 433.4 million, a reduction of 12 per cent compared to the first nine months of the previous year (2017: CHF 490.1 million).

In the third quarter of 2018, Machines & Systems received orders worth CHF 135.7 million (Q3 2017: CHF 164.9 million). In the Asian countries (excluding China, India and Turkey), especially in Vietnam, order intake increased compared to the third quarter of 2017.

In China, development was stable. For Indian customers, increasing challenges in financing of orders led to a weakening of demand in the third quarter. In Turkey, demand was very low.

Business Group After Sales recorded a decline in order intake compared to the first nine months of the previous year, from CHF 115.8 million to CHF 111.3 million (-4 per cent). Order volumes in the third quarter of 2018, which totaled CHF 36.3 million, were lower than in the prior year period (Q3 2017: CHF 38.0 million). The spare parts business developed positively. However, the lower volume in the machinery business led to a decline in installation services. In the third quarter of 2018, After Sales also recorded a significant decline in order intake from Turkey compared to the previous year. The Business Group Components – including the acquisition of SSM Textile Machinery – increased order intake to CHF 205.1 million (2017: CHF 159.1 million), a growth of 29 per cent. In the third quarter of 2018, order intake was CHF 66.0 million (Q3 2017: CHF 66.8 million). For Components, compared to the prior year period order intake in the key markets of China, India and the Asian countries (excluding China, India and Turkey) was generally stable in the third quarter of 2018.

Innovations at ITMA Asia 2018
At ITMA Asia in October 2018, Rieter focused on systems offering and digitisation in the spinning mill. Both met with great interest among the customers. Rieter has thereby achieved another milestone in the implementation of its innovation strategy.

Liske appointed as Head – Machines & Systems
The Board of Directors of Rieter Holding AG has appointed Carsten Liske as Head of the Business Group Machines & Systems effective January 1, 2019. Liske has been with Rieter since 2009. In January 2015, he had been appointed to the Group Executive Committee as head of the newly formed Business Group After Sales. He has successfully built up the business group and with this contributed significantly to the development of Rieter. Before, he was in charge of Global Operations and the subsidiary in China at Rieter’s Business Group Machines & Systems. Liske will take over from Chief Executive Officer Norbert Klapper who holds this position since October 1, 2018 on an interim basis.

Details on outlook for 2018
As announced in July of this year, for 2018 as a whole Rieter anticipates that sales will be above the 2017 figure and EBIT (before restructuring costs) will be below the prior year level. Net profit is expected to be significantly higher than in the previous year, as no extraordinary restructuring charges are anticipated in 2018.

The situation Rieter’s customers are facing in some markets (rising interest rates, strong currency and/or commodity price volatility and political uncertainty) – as outlined in July 2018 – remains unchanged. Rieter believes that these challenges will continue to impact demand. Rieter is the world’s leading supplier of systems for short-staple fibre spinning. Based in Switzerland, the company develops and manufactures machinery, systems and components used to convert natural and man-made fibres and their blends into yarns. Rieter is the only supplier worldwide to cover both spinning preparation processes and all four end spinning processes currently established on the market. Furthermore, Rieter is a leader in the field of precision winding machines. With 17 manufacturing locations in 10 countries, the company employs a global workforce of some 5,250, about 20 per cent of whom are based in Switzerland.