Viscom AG: Highest incoming orders in company’s history / growth forecast for 2022 confirmed

Incoming orders: € 54,728 thousand (previous year: € 45,477 thousand); +20.3 %
Order backlog: € 38,827 thousand (previous year: € 30,346 thousand); +27.9 %
Revenue: € 44,839 thousand (previous year: € 34,069 thousand); +31.6 %
EBIT: € 1,003 thousand (previous year: € 507 thousand); +97.8 %

Hanover, 10 August 2022 – After a positive start to the financial year, business activity at Viscom AG (ISIN DE0007846867) was very brisk again in the second quarter of 2022 and brought the Hanover-based mechanical engineering company its highest incoming orders in the first half of a year since the company was founded, at € 54,728 thousand. The increase of around 20 % compared to the previous year (€ 45,477 thousand) reflects the good placement of Viscom’s inspection systems and services on the markets. In addition, the higher order backlog of € 38,827 thousand results in very good capacity utilisation in all areas of the company. However, supply chain shortages still pose a challenge for Viscom AG, too. Ensuring the supply of parts still requires a high level of organisational and especially staff resources. Missing parts are leading to delays in deliveries of Viscom’s inspection systems and thus delayed revenue recognition. Nonetheless, Viscom managed – partly due to its strong commitment in procurement and in-house pre-production – to generate revenue of € 44,839 thousand in the first half of 2022, up 31.6 % on the previous year’s level (€ 34,069 thousand). EBIT doubled year-on-year to € 1,003 thousand (previous year: € 507 thousand). The EBIT-Margin came to 2.2 % (previous year: 1.5 %).

In the Europe region, there was a sustained market recovery in the first half of 2022 that was reflected in encouraging incoming orders. In light of this, Viscom is optimistic about the second half of the 2022 financial year. Europe remained by far the Viscom Group’s strongest region, accounting for around 49 % of its revenue. The Europe region generated revenue of € 22,019 thousand in the first half of 2022, representing an increase on the previous year’s level (€ 21,689 thousand). Revenue in Germany amounted to € 12,409 thousand (previous year: € 14,576 thousand). Segment earnings in the Europe region amounted to € -839 thousand (previous year: € -16 thousand), corresponding to a margin of -3.8 % (previous year: -0.1 %).

In the Americas region, there is very brisk activity in all sectors, especially in the electric vehicle industry but also at contract manufacturers (EMS) and global carmakers. The supply chain problems are affecting all sectors, and most regional customers have adjusted to them and are planning accordingly. Segment revenue in the Americas region increased significantly year-on-year, almost doubling from € 4,113 thousand to € 7,603 thousand. Segment earnings improved even more substantially to € 711 thousand (previous year: € 249 thousand), corresponding to a margin of 9.4 % (previous year: 6.1 %).

In the first half of 2022, customers placed significantly more orders for their factories in Asia than in the first half of the previous year. More and more customers, especially in the consumer segment, are expecting 24/7-support from Viscom at more and more locations. Viscom is meeting this demand with its new branches in Huizhou, China, and Bangalore, India. Business activities were made more difficult by the hard lockdown in Shanghai, which brought business operations to a halt for two months. As a result, fewer goods and services could be provided to customers in Asia than planned. At the same time, demand for the Viscom Group’s products in Asia is stable or growing slightly. Revenue in the Asia region amounted to € 15,217 thousand in the first half of 2022, a significant increase on the previous year’s level (€ 8,267 thousand). Segment earnings improved to € 697 thousand (previous year: € 234 thousand). This corresponded to an EBIT-Margin of 4.6 % (previous year: 2.8 %).

The management of Viscom AG is confident and believes that Viscom is well positioned to generate sustainable and profitable growth. However, this growth is being curbed by the geopolitical tensions relating to the war in Ukraine, as well as by the strict zero-COVID strategy in China with new lockdown measures and the known effects on global supply chains. The ongoing inflation and interest worries and the continuing rise in energy and raw material prices are leading to further negative effects that are also impacting Viscom AG. The management of Viscom AG nonetheless continues to anticipate target revenue and incoming orders of between € 90 million and € 95 million in the 2022 financial year. The EBIT-Margin is expected to be between 5 % and 10 %, with EBIT of between € 4.5 million and € 9.5 million.

The Group Interim Report as at 30 June 2022 is now available to download in the Company/Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.viscom.com.

OPERATING FIGURES

 
SEGMENT INFORMATION

 About Viscom

Viscom AG develops, manufactures and sells high-quality inspection systems. Its product range covers the full range of optical inspection and X-ray inspection. The company is a leading global provider in the field of assembly inspection for electronics manufacturing. Viscom’s systems can be configured for each individual customer and networked. Its headquarters and manufacturing site are in Hanover. With a large network of branches, application centres, service centres and representatives, Viscom is represented all over the world. Established in 1984, Viscom AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2006 (ISIN: DE0007846867). Further information can be found at www.viscom.com.

Any forecasts, expectations or statements concerning the future included in this release may be subject to risk or uncertainty. We therefore cannot guarantee that the expectations will prove correct. Actual results and developments may differ significantly from the expectations and assumptions expressed. The factors that could cause such deviations include changes in the general economic and competitive situation, exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations and changes in national and international law. The company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in this release.