SWITZERLAND – Swiss food technology group Bühler has posted strong full-year results for 2021 mainly driven by an uptick in demand for its products.
On Group level, order intake increased by 16% to CHF 3 billion (US$3.24bn) while orders on hand by year-end 2021 increased strongly by 27.2% to CHF 1.9 billion (US$2.05bn).
Net profit amounted to CHF 113 million (US$121.88m), also slightly better than last year while the company’s turnover also stood marginally up, at CHF 2.7 billion (US$2.91bn).
The company has attributed its impressive performance to innovations in new products, services, and applications.
“Our innovations, both for plants and services led to growth in our order book. Our strategy to position ourselves as an innovative solution provider for material transformation has been paying off,” says Bühler CEO Stefan Scheiber.
Bühler noted that all its three business segments of Bühler contributed to this positive development.
Grains & Food grew orders by 12% to CHF 1.8 billion (US$1.94bn), Consumer Foods by 6% to CHF 584 million (US$630m); and Advanced Materials showed the strongest growth of 37% to CHF 620 million (US$669m).
From a regional perspective, the Americas, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and India experienced the strongest upswing while China represented the single largest market for Bühler in 2021.
Bühler also managed to further improve its financial position mainly driven by a strong operating cash flow which stood at CHF 256 million (US$276m) at year-end, net liquidity more than doubled to CHF 329 million (US$355m).
Looking forward into 2022, the food tech company noted that political tensions, climate change, supply chain issues, and rising inflation continue to be key factors impacting the economic climate.
Scheiber is however confident that the experience of the past two years of coronavirus crisis has taught Bühler how to thrive in a demanding environment.
The company is now gearing up for the upcoming Bühler Networking Days, which are planned to take place end of June 2022.
“We look forward to again bringing decision-makers and partners from the global food, feed and mobility industries together,” Scheiber said.
“We would like to create positive, accelerated, and sustainable impact together with our partners.”
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