The spread of Covid-19 has caused major disruptions in the global supply chain and has impacted the international trade and service business in recent months. Most machine installations and service interventions scheduled for the second quarter of 2020 could not be performed as planned due to travel bans, which has a significant impact on revenue recognition. 2020 sales will be even less balanced than in previous years affecting negatively the first half-year’s profitability. Bobst Group expects its sales for the first half of 2020 to be more than CHF 200m lower than the CHF 737m achieved in the same period in 2019. The operating result (EBIT) for the first half of 2020 is expected to be around CHF 50 to 60m lower than the CHF 15m achieved in the same period of 2019.
Although countries are reopening borders, there is still a lot of uncertainty mainly linked to air travel and the overall economic and pandemic situation. It is therefore not possible at this time to give a reliable guidance for the Group’s full year revenues and results.
The Group has also announced change in the Group Executive Committee. After nine years of service in Bobst Group’s Executive Committee, Philippe Milliet, Head of Business Unit Sheet-fed, has decided to take on new mandates and to re-focus his activities on business outside of Bobst. During his tenure he not only prepared the Business Unit Sheet-fed, which he led, for the new market requirements in the folding carton and corrugated board industries, he was also prominent in the evolution of Bobst Group to the current stage by leading major Group transformation program, standardisation of core processes and systems, as well as helping increase the comapny’s market presence in China over the past years.
Effective 1 July, 2020, Jean-Pascal Bobst, Group CEO, will head the Business Unit Sheet-fed ad interim.
