Hilti reports 2019 sales growth despite challenging environment
January 24, 2020
The Hilti Group, headquartered in Schaan, Liechtenstein, reports that it saw sales grow 4.3% during the full business year 2019, to CHF 5.9 billion (€5.5 billion). In local currencies, the growth was reported to equate to a 6.3% against the previous year.
Hilti reported that it achieved an increase of 6.9% in local currencies in the European business region, despite Brexit uncertainties and a substantial downturn in the construction economy in Scandinavia.
Outside Europe, Hilti saw business in North America continue to develop positively, advancing 7.3%. Significant growth was also achieved in Latin America, up 8.5% on the previous year, with the recovery of Brazil’s economy contributing significantly to growth.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the company reported growth of 4.3%, said to have been slowed by difficult environments in Hong Kong and South Korea. In Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales achieved 3.7% growth, driven by Russia and the Eastern European market, while sales in the Gulf States and Turkey reportedly remained difficult due to political uncertainties.
“2019 was another successful year for us with exclusively organic growth,” stated Christoph Loos, Hilti CEO. “The economic environment has become more volatile while global construction growth has noticeably slowed. Additionally, currencies largely displayed depreciation tendencies against the Swiss franc. Against this background we’re satisfied with our growth level and are pleased that we gained additional market share.”
