Schindler increased sales and profit in 2021, despite a slowdown in the 4th quarter. The elevator and escalator manufacturer from Lucerne has received numerous orders, leaving behind the consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
Turnover increased by 5.6% to 11.24 billion francs, said the Lucerne on Wednesday. In local currencies, growth was virtually identical.
Operating profit Ebit increased by 13% to 1.17 billion francs and net profit rose by 13.8% to 881 million francs.
The year was marked by a series of challenges, such as pricing pressure, problems in supply chains, shortage of electronic components and rising material and freight costs. As a result, sales stagnated in the 4th quarter and Ebit and net profit even fell by around 15% each.
The decline was due to sharply rising material and freight costs as well as problems in supply chains, Schindler said in its statement. In addition, growth lost momentum in China during the second half of the year, as the market there felt the effects of the difficulties of a real estate giant.
Unchanged dividend
The board of directors will propose an unchanged dividend of 4 francs per share and participation certificate.
The numbers beat AWP consensus analysts’ expectations for incoming orders and just regarding met them for revenue and net profit. In terms of Ebit and dividend, however, analysts were expecting more.
For the next few months, the outlook is not better. The group expects weak growth in turnover during the first two quarters and a ‘significant’ decline in profitability.
For the whole of 2022, the Lucerne expects a growth of 1-6% in turnover in local currencies and he expects that the pressure on the margins will continue. The profit forecasts will, as usual, be presented when the half-year figures are published.
/ ATS