Quarterly figures Q3/2020
Kuka reports signs of recovery
At 752.4 million euros, Kuka's order intake was 20.4% higher than in the same period of the previous year. CEO Mohnen nevertheless warns of "challenging months".
After an economic slump in the first half of the year, Kuka is showing the first signs of recovery. Incoming orders increased significantly between July and September. At 752.4 million euros, they were 20.4% higher than in the third quarter of 2019 (624.8 million euros) and 36.4% higher than in the second quarter of 2020 (551.7 million euros). The ratio of incoming orders to sales (book-to-bill) amounted to 1.09 (Q3/19: 0.75) and shows the recovery in the past quarter.
Peter Mohnen, CEO of Kuka, is satisfied and points out the importance of automation: "Behind these figures is a strong performance and great commitment from our employees. We have strengthened our customer focus in these challenging times. Kuka was able to convince the market under the most difficult conditions and win significantly more orders than in the same period last year and in the second quarter. Even though customers are still extremely reluctant to invest, this also shows that automation is increasingly coming into focus."
The figures in detail
Compared to the losses in the first half of the year, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved to EUR 7.6 million. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, EBIT fell (Q3/19: EUR 35.6 million). Sales revenue fell by 16.9% to 692.0 million euros. The company cited the significantly weaker order intake in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for the decline in EBIT and sales. According to the company, it countered this at an early stage with disciplined efficiency measures and, despite significantly lower sales in the third quarter, was able to achieve positive figures and a positive free quarterly cash flow of EUR 58.8 million (Q3/19: EUR -13.9 million).
Despite the signs of recovery, Mohnen warns against euphoria: "We have challenging months ahead of us with great uncertainty as to how the pandemic and the general economic situation will develop. We are continuing to look closely at where we can position ourselves even better. We need to work hard to adapt to the changes brought about by coronavirus and support our customers as a strong partner. After all, robotics and automation offer great potential and are becoming increasingly important right now."
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