Tue, Feb 27th 2024
Arbonia’s Strategic Shift: Paving the Way for European Door Market Leadership
Construction supplier Arbonia is putting its air conditioning subsidiary up for sale, thereby losing over half of its sales volume.
Our competitive position in the door business is better than in the global heat pump business
Alexander von Witzleben, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
Arbonia has strengthened its door division in recent years and is, therefore, in a good position to grow in the European market. Doors will remain regional due to regulations, logistics, and different tastes.
With the sale, Arbonia wants to strengthen its position in the European door business, including through acquisitions. They hope the division will quickly move towards the billion-euro mark in sales with these purchases.
Operating profit before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) should climb to 100 million, up from around a third.
Arbonia aims to be number 1 in the Swiss market and in Eastern and Southern Europe.
Arbonia intends to save costs with the planned sale of the air conditioning division, which previously accounted for around 60 percent of the Group’s volume.
Specifically, the merger of the previous holding company and the doors division will save CHF 3 to 4 million, according to CFO Daniel Wüest. In addition, real estate worth CHF 50 to 100 million that is no longer required will be sold.
Jobs will be cut in the Executive Board and Board of Directors as well as in the HR, Finance, and IT departments. They expect the restructuring to take two years at maximum.
The sales process for their air conditioning division has been underway since last October and is at an advanced stage. Prospective buyers have come from South Korea, Japan, and China.
According to the management, the sale should generate between 1.3 and 1.4 billion Swiss francs, which will flow into the door division. However, the lion’s share, several hundred million francs, will go to the shareholders. Could this be the reason for the recent uptick in the share price?
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