In a financial year (2016) that was focused on future-oriented investments, Thimm Group achieved moderate growth and increased its revenue by 1.8 percent to €568 million. The company invested €62 million in total. Operating profit, EBITDAR, was €52 million and 9.2 percent of revenue, which corresponds to an increase of 4 percent in comparison to the previous year. The equity ratio continues to be very strong at 42.2 percent (previous year: 43.2 percent).
The Group implemented an extensive investment programme of €62 million (11 percent of revenue) in the previous financial year. A key element of this was the new corrugated plant in Holledau in Wolnzach, Bavaria, that started series production at the beginning of 2017. This is one of the most modern corrugated plants in Europe and perfectly complements the company’s production network.
Thimm has also invested in future-oriented printing technology with its digital web press at its Ilsenburg site. This technology will open up a whole range of new opportunities for printing packaging and point-of-sale displays for customers from the branded goods sectors.
The Group has also further expanded the packaging plants opened last year for multimaterial and special packaging systems in Germersheim and Puebla (Mexico). Existing sites have also been further developed and modernised through expanded floor areas, new converting machines and the optimisation of processes and efficiency-improvement measures. The company has invested almost €180 million over the last five years.
“With revenue growth of 1.8 percent, we once again grew at an above-average rate for the corrugated sector (1.0 percent). Overall, we developed in line with the general economic situation in Germany and the EU,” said Mathias Schliep, Chief Executive Officer of Thimm Group, summarising the development in the 2016 financial year. “Against the backdrop of our comprehensive investment programme and a complex competitive environment, this result is satisfactory for us, although it is still below our ambitious expectations. Our objective continues to be to establish two-digit percentage growth in operating profit.”
For this financial year, the Group is planning revenue growth of more than five percent at around €600 million. This is based on stable forecasts from both the economy in general and the sector in particular – coupled with the expected successful effects from investments and organisational development. In particular, the additional capacity due to the new Holledau plant and new manufacturing technologies such as the digital printing system will yield positive results. At the same time, current price rises for corrugated base papers will affect profit during this year, so the company is assuming an operating profit at the same level as the previous year.
“After several years of above-average investment and strong growth, plus the continuation of a range of optimisation projects, we will focus on maximizing the benefits during 2017. With the objective of continuously developing the company, we shall be flexible in our approach and adapt to situations and better exploit our group-wide potential. This essentially means being open to changes and to new technologies. This is how we will create a sustainable basis to continue to operate as a successful family business in the market,” concluded Mr Schliep.
