Martin Hauser Divisional Director Service | Hermle USA, Inc.
Martin Hauser Divisional Director Service | Hermle USA, Inc.
Business at Maschinenfabrik Berthold HERMLE AG experienced a decline in the first quarter of 2025, attributed to a sluggish machine tool industry. The company reported a 5.3% decrease in incoming orders, totaling €120.3 million compared to €127.0 million in the same period last year. This drop was mainly due to weak domestic demand, with new orders in Germany falling by 26.9% to €31.6 million from €43.2 million previously.
Conversely, international orders rose by 5.8%, reaching €88.7 million from the previous year's €83.8 million, highlighting the success of HERMLE's internationalisation strategy. The order backlog across the Group as of March 31, 2025, stood at €121.8 million, down from €150.8 million on the same date in 2024 and slightly higher than €98.7 million at the end of 2024.
HERMLE saw a slight increase in international turnover by 2.6% to €69.9 million compared to last year's €68.1 million; however, domestic sales fell sharply by 29.1% to €27.3 million from €38.5 million previously, raising the export ratio from 63.9% to 71.9%. Overall group turnover decreased by 8.8% to €97.2 million against last year's figure of €106.6 million.
The reduced capacity utilisation led to a significant drop in earnings for HERMLE during this period, prompting measures such as reducing flexible working-time accounts and introducing short-time work across various business areas.
Despite these challenges and an investment volume lower than last year’s first quarter, HERMLE continued its investment programme focused on developing its locations and constructing a new application centre at its Gosheim headquarters.
HERMLE's financial position remains strong with an equity ratio over 70%. However, given ongoing economic challenges and geopolitical tensions with no signs of improvement expected soon, the company's forecast for full-year 2025 remains unchanged: anticipating a turnover loss between just below 10% and up to 25%, along with an earnings decline ranging from 40% to as much as 90%.
Press contact: Redaktionsbüro tik GmbH, Gabriele Rechinger
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