In the third quarter of 2019,Kuka increased its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from 26.4 million euros to 35.6 million euros compared to the same period of the previous year. The EBIT margin is therefore 4.3 percent (Q3/2018: 3.1 percent). The company cites the efficiency measures introduced at the beginning of the year as the reason for the positive result. Peter Mohnen, CEO of Kuka AG: "We took measures early on with an efficiency programme to stabilize Kuka in economically turbulent times. Nevertheless, economic conditions remain difficult. We will therefore continue to pursue this course consistently."

In the fourth quarter, the Group expects the restructuring of a sub-segment in the Robotics division, which is responsible for automated manufacturing solutions such as cells and special machines, to have a negative impact on EBIT. As a result, the Group is adjusting its forecast for the 2019 financial year: It now expects sales of around 3.2 billion euros, but the EBIT margin including all reorganization expenses should still be above the previous year's level of 1.1 percent.

Automotive and electronics weaken

Nevertheless, the Group recorded a decline in incoming orders of 16.7% to EUR 624.8 million in Q3/2019 (Q3/2018: EUR 750.1 million). The reasons for this include the persistently weakening economy and trade policy uncertainties. According to the company, these are causing customers to hold back on investments. The company is also feeling the effects of restraint in the automotive and electronics industries, which is particularly affecting Kuka's Systems, Robotics and China divisions. Sales revenue fell slightly by 2.1 percent to 832.9 million euros (Q3/2018: 851.0 million euros). The ratio of incoming orders to sales revenue, i.e. the book-to-bill ratio, amounted to 0.75 in the past quarter (Q3/2018: 0.88), which corresponds to a decrease of 0.13.

Outlook 2019

In the first nine months, cumulative incoming orders amounted to EUR 2.434 billion, down 6.8% on the same period of the previous year. Compared to the first nine months of 2018, turnover fell by 3.1% to EUR 2.373 billion, while the book-to-bill ratio for the period from January to September was 1.03 (9M/208: 1.07). EBIT decreased from 93.9 million euros (9M/2018) to 81.4 million euros; the EBIT margin fell from 3.8 percent to 3.4 percent. In the previous year, the sale of shares in the company in the double-digit million euro range had a positive effect on earnings. In the current financial year, the change in the consolidation method resulted in income. If both effects are eliminated, the result for the first nine months of 2019 would be higher than in the previous year, according to the company.

Robotics division

In the third quarter of 2019, the Robotics segment generated incoming orders of EUR 215.4 million, which corresponds to a year-on-year decrease of 27.5% (Q3/2018: EUR 297.0 million). Sales fell by 19.0% from EUR 379.7 million in Q3/2018 to EUR 307.7 million in Q3/2019. The book-to-bill ratio was 0.70 (Q3/2018: 0.78). Due to the persistently difficult global economic situation, customers continue to hold back on investments. The lower sales volume therefore also had an impact on earnings. EBIT amounted to EUR 25.5 million after EUR 37.1 million in Q3/2018. The EBIT margin fell accordingly from 9.8 percent in Q3/2018 to 8.3 percent in Q3/2019. The details of the restructuring of a Robotics division announced in September will be worked out in the fourth quarter. KUKA expects EBIT to be significantly impacted from the fourth quarter onwards, which will also have an effect on full-year earnings.

Incoming orders in the first nine months of 2019 amounted to EUR 822.3 million, which corresponds to a decrease of 14.7% compared to the same period of the previous year (9M/2018: EUR 963.9 million). Sales revenue fell by 7.2% from EUR 937.5 million in the first nine months of 2018 to EUR 870.0 million in 9M/2019. At 0.95, the book-to-bill ratio was below the previous year's figure of 1.03. EBIT in the first nine months amounted to EUR 60.9 million, which corresponds to an EBIT margin of 7.0%. In the same period of the previous year, the Robotics business segment generated EBIT of EUR 105.3 million with an EBIT margin of 11.2%.