Schaan (FL), May 17, 2024 – Over the first four months of 2024 the Hilti Group recorded sales growth of 2.9 percent in local currencies compared to the same period of the previous year. Translated into Swiss francs, sales declined by 1.8 percent, to CHF 2103 million, resulting from an ongoing significant negative currency effect.
“Construction activity in Europe has slowed down significantly, while in other parts of the world, such as Asia or Latin America, we still see some market growth. We are confident that our robust global footprint will enable us to outperform the market,” explained CEO Jahangir Doongaji.
Although the Swiss franc has weakened against the euro and the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, the negative currency effect on sales remains significant and amounts to -4.7 percentage points for the first four months of the current year.
The sales development in the business regions varies strongly. Europe recorded a slight growth of 0.5 percent in local currencies, with Southern Europe being the only region to escape this downward trend. The Americas increased sales by 2.6 percent, primarily driven by double-digit growth in Latin America. The Asia/Pacific region took advantage of an improved market environment to increase sales by 6.7 percent. The Eastern Europe / Middle East / Africa region also remained on the growth track (+16.0%).
For 2024, the company anticipates sales growth in the low to mid-single-digit range in local currencies.
