Bucher Emhart Glass increased its sales by 3% in 2016 compared to the year before.
But, for project-related reasons order intake was 12% lower than the level achieved the previous year.
In its 2016 financial report it attributed the sales growth to healthy demand for glass container manufacturing machinery in Central America, the positive trend in the spare parts business and its cooperation with O-I.
In China, by contrast, demand for glass-forming machinery dropped due to the cyclical downturn and surplus capacity in the glass container industry.
This trend impacted the profitability of the joint venture with Sanjin, necessitating restructuring measures. A provision of CHF 2 million was set aside in the reporting year to cover the costs.
Nevertheless, the division increased its operating profit margin from 6.6% to 7.1% compared with the previous year.
Bucher Emhart Glass’s sales for 2016 were CHF 371 ($366.2 million) compared to CHF 360 ($355.3 million) in 2015.
