Miller Magazine Issue: 135 March 2021

34 NEWS MILLER / march 2021 In 2020, Bühler proved to be a reliable partner to all its stakeholders and showed robust business performance in 2020. Protection of the health of employees, securing supply chains for customers, and keeping the innovation rate high were the top priorities. Despite adverse conditions, Bühler fulfilled all customer contracts and delivery agree- ments without interruptions. And the company launched major innovations for key markets. Bühler has proved reliability and robustness in 2020 Bühler Group gained additional financial strength, with equity ratio reaching 44.2% (+1.4 percentage points) and net liquidity soaring to CHF 749 million (+66.8%). Turnover was CHF 2.7 billion (-17.0%), with order intake amounting to CHF 2.6 billion (-16.7%). “With high agility we adap- ted quickly to the new situation to ensure continuity on all levels,” says CEO Stefan Scheiber. “In light of our global set-up and innovation power, we are looking into the future with bounded optimism.” Bühler assured the health of its employees and its daily operations throughout the year. Supply chains proved re- markably solid, as Bühler was able to absorb the pandemic’s waves thanks to its global network of 33 factories, 100 servi- ce stations, and digital tools such as remote customer trials or commissioning, to bring much needed food capacities online worldwide. “We have seen a sharp rise in customer demand for digital solutions, but also for sustainable solutions, such as CO2-reduced emissions, nutritious and healthy food, hi- gh-end deposition technologies, and clean mobility,” says Stefan Scheiber. INCREASED FINANCIAL STRENGTH “Protecting our liquidity had the highest priority over the course of last year,” says CFOMark Macus. “Our target was to remain a very solid and strong partner for all our stakehol- ders, and we achieved this even in a challenging year like 2020.” Driven by diligent finance management, operating cash flow jumped 211% from CHF 151 million to CHF 470 million. Strict cost management allowed Bühler to offset a significant part of the adverse volume impact, resulting in EBIT of CHF 146 million (previous year: CHF 248 million), and an EBIT margin of 5.4% (7.6%). Turnover was CHF 2.7 billion, down 17.0% from CHF 3.3 Stefan Scheiber, CEO of the Bühler Group