Forbo Holding faced a 2.9% decline in revenues to CHF649.4m in the first six months of this year. This downturn can mainly be traced back to negative currency effects caused by the weaker euro and pound Sterling against the Swiss franc. Net revenues were also slightly lower than last year when adjusted for currency effects, though. At the same time, the flooring, building adhesive and light materials handling system producer boosted its earnings: Group-wide EBITDA rose 11.6% to CHF106.1m. The introduction of new IFRS 16 accounting principles hoisted EBITDA by about CHF8m. The EBITDA margin climbed to 16.3%. The change to IFRS 16 did not have an impact on other earnings figures. EBIT increased 2.7% to CHF77.3m; the resulting margin reached 11.9%. Group net income was 4.3% higher at CHF61.2m.
The Flooring Systems division suffered a particular slump in the latest reporting period. The vinyl, linoleum and textile flooring and building adhesives activities pooled in this division generated revenues of CHF438.3m. This was 5.3% less or 2.3% less when adjusted for currency effects. While the flooring business weakened in Europe, the US and China, Forbo enjoyed a growth in its building adhesives operations. The division’s EBIT fell 3.1% to CHF56.6m due to lower revenues and higher logistics and staffing costs. However, the EBIT margin improved slightly to 12.9%.
