Bühler shows profitable growth in 2022

In 2022, Bühler expanded it's business and improved profitability in an uncertain and volatile business environment. The company was able to mitigate the effects of the war in Ukraine, tense supply chains, and soaring energy and raw material prices, while further improving its financial position with a high equity ratio and repaying the first tranche of its bond. The company continued to invest in innovation, new partnerships, and education and training. With numerous opportunities in its markets and a high order backlog of over CHF 2.1 billion, the company’s ambition is to continue its positive development in 2023. “The impressive dedication of our employees worldwide helped us to be agile, resilient, and creative, even in the face of increasing volatility and uncertainties,” says Bühler CEO Stefan Scheiber.

At the Group level, order intake rose 8.7% to CHF 3.3 billion and order backlog was robust at CHF 2.1 billion. Turnover increased by 10.3% to CHF 3.0 billion. EBIT improved by 36.0% to CHF 199 million, reflecting an EBIT margin of 6.7% (prior year: 5.4%). Net profit went up 35.7% to CHF 154 million (prior year: CHF 113 million). With these results, Bühler has largely managed to reach pre-pandemic business levels. 

The growth in volume came mainly from the Advanced Materials business, where order intake soared by 40.6% to CHF 871 million, nearly doubling its volume within the last two years. Within Advanced Materials, the Die Casting business showed an outstanding performance, growing orders by 60.4%. Turnover in Advanced Materials increased by 31.8% to CHF 671 million. The Consumer Foods business continued its recovery with strong order intake growth of 21.6% to CHF 710 million, and turnover growth of 13.6% to CHF 578 million. The Grains & Food business, Bühler’s largest business, showed solid performance despite being particularly impacted by disrupted supply chains and a slow feed market in China. The segment saw order intake in 2022 of CHF 1,663 million, down 6.5%, while turnover grew by 2.6% to CHF 1,696 million, and with this managed to keep business very stable throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

All regions contributed to Bühler’s turnover growth, with the Americas and Middle East Africa & India standing out. Regional growth rates and turnover shares were as follows: Asia 6% growth to 32% of the total share of turnover; Europe 3% growth to 30%; North America 17% growth to 17% and South America 26% growth to 5%; Middle East Africa & India 24% growth to 16%. With these successes in important markets, Bühler’s global distribution of turnover is very robust and balanced.

Bühler’s Customer Service business (including Single Machines) also grew by 3.4% and added substantially to the 2022 results with turnover amounting to CHF 955 million, representing a 32% share of Group turnover. Bühler offers a holistic service portfolio with seven modules from hardware, components, and spare parts to upgrading, maintenance, software and process optimizations for systems, with the objective of improving the performance of the existing customer asset base in terms of efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Sustainability gained importance in 2022, as services are the fastest lever to reduce energy, waste, and water in existing plants. “We judge the good business performance in 2022 as a confirmation of our strategy to be a provider of sustainable solutions and services, and to be a reliable and innovative partner in creating value for our customers," says CEO Stefan Scheiber.