Hilti continues to increase sales in 2023 despite headwinds from the Swiss franc
Published: Thursday, Jan 25th 2024, 11:00
Updated At: Thursday, Jan 25th 2024, 11:00
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After breaking through the 6 billion mark in the previous year, the construction equipment manufacturer Hilti has continued to grow. And this despite the tough headwind from the currency front, which cost several hundred million in sales.
Overall, the manufacturer of the famous red drills achieved sales of 6.5 billion Swiss francs in 2023. This is 2.7 percent more than in the previous year, as Hilti announced on Thursday.
However, the continued appreciation of the Swiss franc against all major currencies was a major problem for the Liechtenstein-based group: The strength of the franc depressed sales by 6.3 percentage points. That is 400 million francs.
In local currencies, the construction equipment manufacturer would have grown by 9 percent. This means that Hilti performed better than the industry as a whole, explained CEO Jahangir Doongaji. All regions of the world grew, the most important even significantly.
European business strong
The increase was strongest in the Asia/Pacific region, where business grew by 13.8% in local currencies. Calculated in Swiss francs, this resulted in an increase of just 3.7 percent to 791 million sales. China recovered only slowly from the corona lockdowns, while the other countries in the region achieved solid growth rates, Hilti continued.
The Eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa region was held back by the war in Ukraine. Sales in local currencies rose by 3.1 percent. In Swiss francs, however, it fell by 7 percent to CHF 504 million.
In the most important region, Europe, Hilti achieved growth of 8.7 percent in local currencies, which is attributable in particular to the strong business in Southern Europe. Converted into Swiss francs, however, sales climbed by only 4.7 percent to 3.6 billion.
In America, business grew by 9.1% in local currencies. In Swiss francs, this only left an increase in sales of 1.8 percent to 1.9 billion.
Further growth expected
For the new year 2024, Hilti expects sales growth in the mid-single-digit range in local currencies and a "significantly negative" currency effect in Swiss francs. The Group anticipates a further weakening of the environment, but is confident of continuing its growth, explained CEO Doongaji.
©Keystone/SDA
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