Thimm Group closed the 2018 financial year with revenue growth of 7.4% at €645m (previous year: €601m) thus generating a solid increase. According to Mathias Schliep, Chairman of the Management Board, Thimm Group, “Our revenue has continued to develop at the general economic level for the corrugated industry, but is slightly below our expectations. This is attributable to the continuing difficult cost situation in the corrugated sector. In the fourth quarter of 2018 prices for corrugated base papers declined slightly but the average development at the end of the year was an increase of 19.3% higher than in 2017. Personnel, energy and logistics costs also rose in the financial year under review. These developments have led to a tense earnings performance across the entire sector. Our operating result EBITDAR amounted to €46.7m and corresponds to an increase of 15.3% over the previous year. Our equity ratio of 37.5% remained at a solid level. Our earnings were positively affected in particular by the business division of Thimm Packaging Systems and by above-average volume growth in our packaging plants in Poland and Romania. Also, the very strong start-up curve from our plant in Wolnzach in Bavaria, where we invested in a new building in 2017, made a significant contribution to the increase in earnings.”
In the financial year under review Thimm Group continued to invest in site expansions and in new production technologies. Three sites saw expansions in their production halls which are enabling further growth. In Tychy in Poland and Všetaty in the Czech Republic, investments were made in equipment in order to develop the business with high-grade packaging finishes. In Sibiu in Romania a further expansion stage was reached with the order of a new corrugator which was commissioned in April 2019. Taken together, with many other investment projects, total investments for the year amounted to €15.9m.
Since the investment in the future-oriented digital printing technology at the Ilsenburg site (2017), the demand for digitally-printed packaging and displays continued to rise sharply in 2018. According to Schliep, “More and more manufacturers of branded items and own brands are showing an interest in digital printing. After many initial orders our customers are demonstrably impressed with the flexibility and the highly-innovative solutions such as the invisible data codes. In order to meet the strongly increasing demand in the first few months of 2019, long-term further printing capacities must be developed in the market. Overall this validates our investment in the digital web press.”
THIMM Group is planning investments of €37m for 2019. The main focus of these investments is on the development of packaging plants with expansions to buildings and machine capacities. Another investment focus will be the modernisation of the technical infrastructure.
