Weaker sales but Plansee Group continues to expand
July 29, 2013
With the divisions Plansee High Performance Materials, Global Tungsten & Powders (GTP), Ceratizit (hardmetal tools and wear parts), and the investment in Molymet, Austria’s Plansee Group is today one of the leading global powder metallurgy companies covering the whole supply chain of the high-tech materials based on molybdenum and tungsten, from ore processing to the production of customer-specific components.
In the recently announced results for the last fiscal year 2012/13, which ended on the last day of February 2013, the Plansee Group generated consolidated sales of €1.23 billion and employed a total of 5,710 people worldwide. Group sales were down 19% on the previous fiscal year with the main reason being the sale of the PMG division (structural PM parts) at the end of 2011. PMG had contributed annual sales of €200 million. The sales figures also reflect the customers’ cautious purchasing strategies and a fall in the prices of raw materials.
Dr. Michael Schwarzkopf, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Plansee Group said in presenting the results that, “bearing in mind that we have had to operate in a global market environment characterised by uncertainty and that previously booming China provided only little stimulus, we are extremely satisfied. In financial terms, 2012/13 even turned out to be our second most successful year ever.” As in the preceding year, sales outside of Europe accounted for 52% of the Plansee Group total (America 31%, Asia 21%, Europe 48%). Half of Group sales were achieved in three sectors: mechanical engineering, automotive and consumer electronics.
During the last fiscal year, the Plansee Group made investments of more than €180 million. This included additional production capacity in Austria, Germany, the USA, China and India as well as the holdings in Molymet and recently acquired Günther Wirth. The new Plansee High Performance Materials production plant in Shanghai is due to start production in this summer. Plansee spent €29 million on product and process innovations.
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