SHW AG reports growth in Powder Metallurgy sales
February 18, 2015
Germany’s SHW AG, a leading automotive supplier of automotive pumps, engine components and brake discs, has reported that group sales in fiscal year 2014 increased by 17.6% to €430.0 million (2013 €365.6 million), with EBITDA of €40.6 million in the period January to December 2014.
“We made very encouraging progress, both in the optimisation of our business processes at the factory level, and in the internationalisation of our business activities,” stated CEO Dr Thomas Buchholz.
The Pumps and Engine Components business segment, which includes SHW’s Powder Metallurgy division, reported its highest level of annual sales in the company’s history with sales in the reporting year amounting to €333.6 million (2013: €274.2 million). Sales in the Powder Metallurgy division grew by 18.5% to €31.7 million (2013: €26.8 million).
“The high number of customer call orders during the 2014 fiscal year led to considerable logistical and operational pressures on the existing technical capacity at both our suppliers and in the Powder Metallurgy division at the Aalen-Wasseralfingen production site. This had a corresponding adverse effect on the productivity of our pump production operations at our site in Bad Schussenried, the main customer of the Powder Metallurgy division,” the company stated.
In the Passenger Car division, sales grew by 25.3% to €272.0 million (2013: €217.2 million) and were driven by higher customer call orders, particularly in the area of variable oil/vacuum pumps (tandem pumps), as well as by the rise in capacity for an electric auxiliary pump for start/stop systems.
The Brake Discs business segment increased sales by 5.5% to €96.5 million (2013: €91.5 million) in fiscal year 2014. All product areas in this segment contributed to this growth, stated the company.
