The Manmade Fibers Segment or Oerliken succeeded in sustaining its high level of performance – increasing its sales by 18.5 per cent in the second quarter. Sales of the company in the second quarter represented the highest level of sales achieved by the segment since 2013. Sales growth was recorded primarily in textile applications such as filament equipment and texturing, and was substantiated by a healthy demand for systems used in industrial yarn spinning (special filament) and nonwovens (plant engineering). A decrease in demand for carpet yarn technologies was noted, which was a development to be expected following a very strong demand for these technologies in 2018.

Sales increased significantly in Europe (-140%), albeit from a low base, while China saw a healthy 26% growth. A decline in sales was registered in North America (-15%) and in India (-85%) compared to the second quarter of 2018.The segment significantly improved operating profitability with an EBITDA margin of 17.8 per cent for Q2 2019. This is attributed to disciplined cost management, a larger number of higher-margin projects in the mix and one-time customer effects. As a number of lower-margin projects from the down cycle and recovery periods are expected to be delivered and recognised in the second half of the year, the high EBITDA margin from the second quarter is not expected to be sustained in the upcoming quarters. EBIT for Q2 2019 stood at CHF 51 million and the EBIT margin was 15.7 per cent.