Bossard only grew in 2019 thanks to takeovers

Thanks to acquisitions, the Bossard Group in Zug grew once again in 2019, the eighth time in a row, although the pace of the growth has slowed. The company felt the effects of the economic headwind, particularly in the United States, and the strong Swiss franc.
 
 In the year under review, the Bossard company, which trades in screws and provides logistics, increased its group sales by 0.6 percent, to CHF 876.2 million, thanks to a number of additional acquisitions. In local currencies, i.e. adjusted for negative currency effects, there was an increase of 1.9 percent, as the company announced on Tuesday.

Organically, that means there was a decrease of 2.1 percent after making corrections to take account of currency and acquisition influences. Bossard states that growth has continued in Europe and Asia, despite the weakening economy, the trade conflict between the USA and China, and the increasing strength of the Swiss franc. The more difficult general conditions in America have led to a noticeable decline in sales there.

The pace of growth thereby slowed again towards the end of the year. When considered from the viewpoint of its own activities, and after adjustment for currency effects, Bossard's sales shrank by 7.4 percent in the final quarter, although things looked a little better in the previous quarter. After a satisfactory first quarter, there was an organic decline of 3.9 percent in the second, and of 2.6 percent in the third.
 

In the USA in particular, things did not go so well at the end of the year, with a minus figure clearly in the double-digit range in the last quarter. Bossard was unable to benefit from the increasing production volume at Tesla because the company contributed fewer products to the newer models. The economy in the industrial sector had also weakened.

Even in Europe, the region with the largest turnover, sales in the fourth quarter were almost 6 percent lower when adjusted for acquisitions. Looking at the year as a whole, an organic growth of 0.5 percent remained. Things were better in Asia, where Bossard grew over both the full year and the fourth quarter.

With its reported sales, Bossard actually met the somewhat reduced forecast made in August, but was at the lower end of analysts' expectations, who were looking for an average value of almost 880 million.

No information was given regarding the outlook for the 2020 financial year, and Bossard will present the detailed annual results on March 4.