The Würth Group reported sales of EUR 10.2 billion in the first half of 2024, which corresponds to a year-over-year decrease of 3.2%, and -2.6% adjusted for currencies.
“Our sales development continues to be strongly influenced by the economic situation, which is particularly noticeable in the manufacturing units that supply to the automotive industry, for example. On the other hand, it is good to see that Würth Line Craft is developing steadily despite an exceedingly difficult market environment. The residential construction sector continues to lament the lack of new orders, even though the ifo Business Climate Index showed a slight improvement in this sector in June: from –52.3 to –46.4 points. This development and the reduction of the key interest rate in June 2024 are small signals that suggest a slight improvement in the economy. At the moment, we cannot expect the situation to improve in the short term. Nevertheless, we are sticking to our countercyclical strategy: We invest when others scale back. We are continuing to expand our sales activities across all channels - the sales force, shops, and e-business - while also investing in IT and promoting digitalisation. The promise of readily available products to our more than four million customers worldwide is our top priority,” commented Robert Friedmann, Chairman of the Central Management Board of the Würth Group.
Over the past twelve months, the Group created over 300 jobs in the fields of digitalisation and IT. Currently, the Würth Group has 88,616 employees worldwide, with 44,437 employees working in sales. Around 1,200 employees joined the company through acquisitions.
The sales volume generated by the German companies of the Würth Group amounted to EUR 4.0 billion compared to EUR 4.2 billion in the same period last year. The companies outside Germany reported a slight drop in sales of 1.8% year over year. Within the Würth Group’s core business, the Auto Division reported positive growth of 4.2%. Among the Group’s Allied Companies, the Chemicals unit is developing positively (+6.6%). With the approval of the European Commission, the Würth Group successfully acquired 80% of the shares of IDG01 S.p.A., the leading electrical wholesaler in Italy’s Piedmont region, based in Turin, on 1 July 2024. This strengthens the market position of the Electrical Wholesale unit in Italy, facilitating further growth in this market. The company has 580 employees across forty-one locations, and generated sales of EUR 285 million in 2023.
At EUR 525 million, the operating result of the Würth Group is down year over year (2023: EUR 680 million) as a result of the lower sales volume in the first half of the year. The Würth Group continues to rest on a robust financial basis.
According to analyses by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the German economy is recovering slowly: The institute’s experts revised their forecasts upwards, predicting economic growth of 0.3% in 2024 and 1.3% in 2025. The global economy saw moderate growth in the first six months of the year, with global trade improving slightly.
“The Würth Group has proven in the past that it can overcome major challenges successfully. We have a wide footprint across many regions, and functioning business models in a diversified range of business units, in which we are continuously investing. Despite the unfavourable economic situation, we stick to our strategy,” Friedmann said. Provided the macroeconomic and geopolitical situation remains stable, the Group expects a comparable sales level as in 2023 and a decline in the operating result this year.
