The Hilti Group reported sales growth of 1.9 percent in local currencies over the first eight months of the 2024 business year. Consistently negative currency effects impacted sales and resulted in a decrease of 1.1 percent in Swiss francs compared to the same period last year. The operating result grew by 4.9 percent, to CHF 489 million.
Business development over the first eight months of 2024 was largely influenced by a challenging market in Central and Northern Europe (+0.2% in Europe in local currencies). In the Americas, the Hilti Group recorded a slight increase of 1.2 percent. In Asia/Pacific the company was able to grow by 5.5 percent, while the Eastern Europe / Middle East / Africa region continued to grow strongly, at 11.0 percent.
“We expect the market environment to continue to vary strongly, from negative in our home market of Central Europe to positive in Asia/Pacific and the Middle East. With our business model, we can successfully navigate these uncertain times,” explains CEO Jahangir Doongaji.
The first eight months of the year were also characterized by significant ongoing currency volatility. Overall, this resulted in a negative currency effect on sales of -3.0 percentage points in Swiss francs.
Compared to the same period of previous year, the operating result improved to CHF 489 million (+4.9%). With an increase of 3.0 percent, net income totaled CHF 345 million.
For 2024, the Hilti Group expects low single-digit sales growth in local currencies.
Management Buyout in Russia and Belarus
After more than 30 years of operations in Russia and more than 15 years in Belarus, the Hilti Group has decided to exit both markets.
Since 2022 the Hilti Group has significantly ramped down its operations in and ceased all exports to Russia and Belarus.
Pending government approval, the Hilti Group will sell all its local operations to the local management. Given the circumstances this is the best solution for the local team members. The local entities will be entirely separated from the Hilti Group and operate independently. They will no longer use the Hilti nor the Oglaend brand.
