Voith pursues consistent implementation of the Group transformation process
The Voith Group is making good progress with its transformation: In the first half of fiscal year 2015/16, Voith positively maintained its operative business in important industries despite a consistently subdued investment climate.
Voith has also steadily pressed on with its strategic refocusing on its technology and engineering competence for the digital age. Voith’s Digital Solutions Group Division, with which Voith aims to operate its business with Industrie 4.0 applications in the future, was launched on-schedule on April 1, 2016. The sale of a majority shareholding in technical industrial services provider, Voith Industrial Services, to the financial investor Triton was another planned milestone in the transformation of the Group. The sale was agreed upon and announced in May 2016.
About the good progress of operative divisions
“Despite the challenging economic climate in the current fiscal year, we remain on course and are continuing to implement on a step-by-step-basis our program as announced. We are also making good progress in our operative divisions, all of which performed well in a somewhat- difficult environment with weak economic momentum,” declared Dr. Hubert Lienhard, President and CEO.
In the first six months of the fiscal year (October 2015 to March 2016), the Voith Group and its continuing operations (excluding Voith Industrial Services) received orders worth a total of €2.16 billion. This is equal to an increase of 19 percent compared to the same period last year. Orders on hand rose to €5.49 (5.29) billion compared to the end of the previous fiscal year.
Voith recorded nearly stable sales by continuing operations of €2.04 billion compared to the previous year. Around half of the slight decline of three percent compared to the previous year is due to negative currency effects. Total profit from operations of the Group Divisions was up slightly from the previous year. Owing to one-time valuation effects for certain foreign currency effects on foreign currency items at the holding level, the Group’s profit from operations fell, however, year after year from €120 million to €97 million. The Group net result improved significantly in the half year period from minus €131 million to minus €48 million, in part owing to the elimination of high restructuring costs. Without the impairment charges of €71 million, including on securities, the Group would have posted a net income for the half-year period of €23 million.
“Apart from the non-recurring effects occurring in the first half of the year, our Group-wide success program Voith 150+ is having an impact. The Voith Group’s fundamental earnings power is noticeably improved,” said Lienhard, explaining the development of the overall Group during the first six months.
