Phoenix Mecano on track despite headwinds - Seite 2

At EUR 13.1 million, the result of the period was down on the previous year (EUR 16.6 million) due to the aforementioned special items.

Division performance

The DewertOkin Technology Group (DOT Group) division saw its gross sales decline by 11.4% to EUR 172.0 million. In organic, local-currency terms, the decrease was 17.8%. The operating result fell to EUR 0.3 million, corresponding to an operating margin of 0.2%.

The DOT Group was hit by a 'perfect storm' in the first half of the year. Increased raw material prices, stressed supply chains, partial lockdowns in its key Chinese production centres and declining incoming orders as a result of the global economic downturn curbed the previously dynamic growth in all market regions.

The DOT Group responded with capacity adjustments and cost-cutting measures and, despite the above-mentioned challenges, managed to achieve a break-even operating result. Long-term projects such as investments in vertical integration and a sustainable increase in operational performance were implemented consistently. The first production facilities are currently being installed at the Jiaxing site and a large part of production is expected to have moved to the new industrial park by the end of the year. Strategic investments in R&D and software development are also continuing, aimed at driving digitalisation and strengthening the DOT Group's leading market position through product innovations.

In the Industrial Components division, gross sales increased by 13.5% to EUR 125.9 million. In organic, local-currency terms, they grew by 9.5%. Before non-recurring items linked to irregularities at a US subsidiary, the operating result was EUR 10.0 million, up 15.7% on the previous year (EUR 8.6 million). One-off items curtailed the operating result to EUR 4.3 million. The operating margin was 7.9% before and 3.5% after special items (previous year: 7.8%).

In the Automation Modules business area, margins were defended by systematic price increases, in the face of significant hikes in material costs. Products in the Measuring Technology business area saw strong demand from industry and from larger project orders in wind, solar and energy storage. Material shortages hampered growth in Rugged Computing.