Consumer foods business continues recovery at Bühler
Bühler CEO Stefan Scheiber.
The Consumer Foods business continued its recovery with strong order intake growth of 21.6% to CHF 710 million, and turnover growth of 13.6% to CHF 578 million.
The Grains & Food business, Bühler’s largest business, showed solid performance despite being particularly impacted by disrupted supply chains and a slow feed market in China. The segment saw order intake in 2022 of CHF 1,663 million, down 6.5%, while turnover grew by 2.6% to CHF 1,696 million, and with this managed to keep business very stable throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The news comes as Bühler expanded its business and improved profitability in an “uncertain and volatile business environment”. The company said it was able to mitigate effects of the war in Ukraine, tense supply chains, and soaring energy and raw material prices, while further improving its financial position with a high equity ratio and repaying the first tranche of its bond.
The company highlighted it’s continued investment in innovation, new partnerships, and education and training.
At the Networking Days event in June, Bühler brought together 1,000 industry leaders who engaged with each other on how to improve energy and food security, reduce waste, cut water usage, lower CO2e emissions, improve biodiversity, and rethink mobility.
Bühler announced several joint ventures and partnerships that will facilitate the transition towards more efficient food and feed production and accelerate the shift towards sustainable mobility during this key event.
2022 also marked an important milestone for Bühler in terms of sustainability as it announced the next level of targets with more tangible goals and action plans. Bühler has developed a pathway to achieve a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 2030 and has committed to having solutions ready to multiply by 2025 that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers.
To keep the pace of innovation high, expenses for research and development (R&D) remained stable at CHF 141 million representing 4.7% of Group turnover in line with the Bühler strategy to be the technology leader of the selected industry segments. Continuing its innovation promise to sustainably transform value chains, Bühler launched some 40 new products, including six new core products, in 2022.
With numerous opportunities in its markets and a high order backlog of over CHF 2.1 billion, the company’s ambition is to continue its positive development in 2023.
While 2023 will likely continue to be challenging, Bühler is starting the year with a solid financial position and high carryover of orders. Thanks to developments in the markets Bühler serves, the company believes there are many opportunities for which the company can provide solutions that create impact and value for customers.
Despite all the uncertainties, Bühler’s ambition is to continue its positive development. “Overall, we are convinced that Bühler is well prepared to take another positive step in developing the business successfully in 2023, even in a very dynamic market environment,” said CEO Stefan Scheiber.
