In the 1st half (H1) of 2019, the textile machinery manufacturer Saurer AG, Wattwil/Switzerland, saw a decline in sales of 17.5% to RMB 3.82 billion (€480 million).
Sales in the Spinning Solutions segment fell by 10.6% to RMB 3.29 billion (€413 million). Saurer Technologies suffered significant losses of 44.3% to RMB 530 million (€67 million). This was due to the booming demand for glass fiber, carpet yarn and tire cord in 2017 and 2018, and the resulting market saturation, which had a negative impact on the twisting business in 2019.
Sales revenue in Saurer’s 3 largest markets dropped in the first 6 months of 2019. In China, this meant a decline of 10.8% to RMB 2.17 billion (€273 million) while sales in India decreased to RMB 283 million (-19.4%). In Turkey revenue fell to RMB 113 million (-73.4%). The region Asia (excl. China/India) performed well with a growth in sales of 14.9% to RMB 795.5 million. Uzbekistan was a major contributor to this result. In the Americas region results were negative (-32.9%). with Mexico seeing good growth while the USA experienced a downturn. The upturn in Mexico is offset by a downturn in the US economy.
The reasons cited for the decline in sales were, on the one hand, uncertainty in view of the ongoing trade dispute between China and the USA. Global growth is also slower this year. Another factor was the ITMA. The most important textile trade fair in the world has a major impact on the market: customers hold back their orders because they are waiting for new products to be launched by manufacturers at the fair.