Swiss-based Gallus Group increased global sales by 8% in 2014 thanks to a strong performance in the second half and a record final quarter.
The label printing and folding carton presses manufacturer posted sales of 202 million Swiss francs in 2014, up from 187 million Swiss francs in 2013.
“Customers were more optimistic and inclined to invest in the second half of the year,” said a company press release:
Since the financial and economic crisis, there has been a trend towards more short-notice demand for label and folding carton printing machinery. This helped the Gallus Group put in a strong performance in the second half of 2014, achieving record sales in the final quarter with a positive impact on earnings. Slowing growth in important emerging markets such as Brazil and China and the slump in demand caused by the political crises in parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East were compensated for by strong sales in the core European countries.
Here in Australia, 2014 was a “slower year,” according to James Rodden, Managing Director of Melbourne-based Gallus Oceania.
Gallus also revealed that it was forced to implement emergency cost-cutting measures earlier this year to counteract the strong Swiss franc:
Following the Swiss National Bank's announcement on 15 January 2015 that the minimum exchange rate with the euro was being scrapped, initial cost-saving measures were quickly introduced in order to reduce the impact of the appreciation of the Swiss franc. The Group is maintaining its existing strategy of focusing on labels and folding cartons in the packaging segments, as well as expanding its digital printing machinery business and investing in innovations while continuing to optimise its costs.
The Gallus Group, one of the world’s leading partners for label printers, develops and manufactures machine systems at its headquarters in the Swiss City of St. Gallen and at a second production facility in Germany.