Feintool is a leading technology and systems provider in fineblanking/forming and automation. It is also a global supplier of metal and plastic components.
Feintool operates throughout the world at the company's own facilities in Switzerland (head office in Lyss), Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, the United States, Japan, China and Thailand, where around 1800 employees are committed to customer satisfaction.

http://www.feintool.com

Feintool reports sharp rise in volumes in first quarter of fiscal 2007/08
Feintool Group, the leading technology and systems provider for fineblanking/forming and assembly automation and a global supplier of metal and plastic components to the automotive industry, has started the 2007/08 financial year with a strong first quarter. Compared with the same period of the previous year, sales rose 20.6% to CHF 143.6 million while order intake was up 23% and orders in hand soared by 38.9%. Given that numerous fineblanking systems were delivered in the first quarter and that the US credit crisis could impact the level of business on local markets, volumes are expected to be somewhat lower in the next quarters.
The healthy year-on-year rises posted by the two segments Fineblanking/Forming (+ CHF 14.1 m or 17.6%) and Automation (+ CHF 11 m or 48.4%) can be ascribed to the large backlog of orders from the previous year. In the Plastic/Metal Components segment, the renewed fall in sales - for which a warning had already been issued - was kept to a moderate CHF 0.4 m or 2.5%. 
The impressive rise in order intake and outstanding orders was due to the successful implementation of numerous interesting projects, mainly in Europe. Developments at the US production facilities are less encouraging: they are reporting lower volumes owing to the nervousness engendered by the credit crisis.

Feintool Group broadly on track in the first half
The Feintool Group, a leading technology and systems provider and a global components supplier based in Lyss (Switzerland), has reported similarly good results for the first half of the 2006/07 financial year as it did 12 months previously. At CHF 256.1 million, consolidated sales were about 2% higher than in the same period last year (CHF 250.6 million). EBIT of CHF 14.3 million (previous year: CHF 14.5 million) and net profit of CHF 6.8 million (previous year: CHF 7.4 million) were a little lower. As order intake rose by a substantial 9.5% while orders on hand soared by 17.6% year-on-year, sales in the current year are actually set to surpass the 2005/06 figure by a small margin. The operating result, however, will probably fall slightly short of the year-ago figure due mainly to non-recurring income in 2005/06.
Having undergone the announced consolidation, the newly constituted Group Management team can look back on a first half that met expectations. Overall, sales were up slightly while order intake rose sharply; and in the meantime, orders on hand have remained high. This can be ascribed to a further improvement in the results generated by the Group's core Fineblanking/Forming segment. Following a weak first quarter, the Automation segment gained a lot of ground in the second quarter. In the Plastic/Metal Components segment, the optimization measures initiated will only yield positive results in a later period. Operating earnings were slightly down from the year-ago figure, and last year's non-recurring income coupled with higher depreciation charges and up-front sales and marketing expenses in the current year, are set to fall slightly short of the 2005/2006 level at the end of the financial year.

A buoyant global investment climate for technology and systems had a positive impact on outstanding orders and projects. With its competitive products and services, Feintool intends to continue capitalizing on this. In the component supplies business, Fineblanking/Forming has seen continuing growth despite price pressures and supply problems in the steel sector, as process and cost structures have been steadily improved. 

Feintool Group improves performance again in 2005-2006 financial year
In the 2005-2006 financial year ended 30.09.06, Feintool, the global systems construction and components manufacturing group based in Lyss, Switzerland, lifted its EBIT figure by 6.9% from CHF 26.7 million in the previous year to CHF 28.5 million and improved net profit from CHF 14.6 million to CHF 15.6 million on consolidated sales of CHF 501.0 million (roughly 2.8% more than the previous year's figure of CHF 487.2 million). 
At the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors will propose payment of a dividend of CHF 10 per registered share with a par value of CHF 50. This represents a return of 3.1% (taking a baseline price of CHF 324).
With orders in hand higher than 12 months ago, Feintool is starting the 2006-2007 financial year with bright prospects.

The buoyant world economy - with increased capital investment on the back of upbeat consumer sentiment, notably in the automotive sector - has continued to drive the business forward. Feintool's growing market success, however, is the result of a rigorous strategy that has been implemented consistently over a number of years. Innovation, intensive development work and proactive marketing are paying off. Both new and existing customers appreciate the Group's strength in customized solutions both for systems (with the attendant performance gains) and for components manufacture (offering new applications). 
As a global corporation for technology and systems, regional fluctuations in business in Europe, Asia and America cancelled each other out across the various segments, giving a positive overall picture.
In the components manufacture segments, which operate around the world out of eleven Group locations, the subdued climate in the USA was more than offset by steady growth in Europe and Japan. 
By investing in modern production plant, research and development, as well as in training at all levels - notably with regard to environmental certification at the Lyss site - Feintool is working hard to safeguard future success. In addition, analyses have been launched and measures taken in hand to bring about a short- to medium-term improvement in capacity utilization at factories in the US, Biberist (Switzerland) and Lamphun (Thailand), which had temporarily declined owing to lower call-ups on existing orders or delays in project start-ups. Greater attention will be paid to sales of presses in Japan, which have not kept up with market growth in recent years.
The Fineblanking/Forming segment increased its year-on-year sales once more, posting a 4.7% gain from CHF 304.9 million to CHF 319.2  million. It contributed 63.4% to Group sales (previous year: 62.1%) and raised EBIT from CHF 24.2 million to CHF 25.1 million (up 3.7% on the 2004-2005 figure). Both brands of presses and systems, Feintool and Schmid, posted another record result: thanks in part to new customer acquisitions, their figures come in just above the previous year. 
In the components business, the European and Japanese facilities both increased their sales once more, whereas the US companies saw a year-on-year fall in revenues.