Wintersteiger Aims For Turnover Of 200 Million Euros

he international machine and plant assembly group from Ried im Innkreis is returning to growth and profit with its earnings figures for 2021. “2020 was tough, 2021 better and 2022 will be really good!” With these words, the Wintersteiger board welcomed its employees at the hybrid town hall meeting on April 7, 2022, which was attended by around 500 colleagues on site in Ried and another 600 at attended the worldwide locations via live stream. 

After a pre-tax loss (EBT) of almost EUR 10 million in 2020 and a 26% drop in sales, the group of companies is back on a growth path in 2021 and reports consolidated sales of EUR 168 million and a pre-tax profit (EBT) of EUR 6 million. "It is important to emphasize that our cash flow and our EBITDA were always positive, even during the crisis," emphasizes CFO Harold Kostka and CEO Dr. Florestan von Boxberg is convinced that, despite the current procurement crisis, Wintersteiger will finally overcome the Corona kink in the current year and will exceed the EUR 200 million turnover mark for the first time.  

 

The pandemic caught the company, and especially the ski rental customers in the Sports Division, cold. Sales in the previously dominant business area collapsed by 30% in 2020. In 2021 it will rise again by 23%, but is still well below the pre-crisis level. An increase compared to 2019 is not expected until 2022. "We are proud that Sports was always able to balance the balance sheet during this difficult phase," said Boxberg, who is convinced of the division's business model. 

Wintersteiger has used the crisis for company acquisitions and a product offensive. In 2021 the general importer for Norway and Sweden was acquired. At the beginning of 2022, a mechanical engineering company for the wood division near Stuttgart was taken over and a minority stake was held in a Viennese IT company. The Seedmech and Woodtech divisions also grew strongly last year to EUR 44 million (+38%) and EUR 39 million (+18%) respectively. 

The 2020 result was also impacted by restructuring expenses in the Metals division, which in 2021 developed into the most profitable of the four divisions in relative terms with a new orientation and a strong positioning among suppliers of electromobility as well as significant internationalization. "In 2021, all of our divisions made a profit despite high investments in the future," emphasizes Kostka. 

In 2022, with sales of around EUR 50 million per division, Wintersteiger will reach a size that allows for more independence. With this argument, the Management Board announced the spin-off of the four divisions into independent companies, a production and supply chain GmbH and the formation of a strategic holding company as a major project for the current year. "We delegate decisions to places where they can be made competently and quickly," says Boxberg, presenting the realignment. "This will enable us in the divisions to focus even more on the needs of our customers and to promote an even clearer focus on the industrialization of our products in the production company." IT, HR, Legal, Marketing and M&A activities bundled.”

Figures 2021 Wintersteiger AG: