Würth sales rose 22.6% (currency adjusted) year-on-year to €8.4 billion in H1 2021, in Group terms.
In Germany, the Würth Group generated sales of €3.4 billion (+16.4%), with the companies abroad achieving total sales of €5 billion (+24.3%).
The month of April was historic: The Würth Group achieved monthly sales of EUR 1.42 billion, which translates into year-over-year growth of 50.5 percent (adjusted growth: 47.6 percent).
Robert Friedmann, Chairman of the Central Managing Board of the Würth Group: “That our growth in the first half of 2021 came out so strong despite the pandemic has exceeded all our expectations. It is especially great to see that almost all business units are growing."
Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, the parent company and largest individual company in the Group, generated sales of EUR 1.25 billion including intra-Group sales (+17.9%) in H1 2021.
Würth sales: Metal, construction & electrical
Total sales in the Metal and Construction divisions improved 22% over the previous year in the first half of 2021. The companies in business unit Electrical Wholesale reported strong growth of 32.3%. eiSos Group was equally successful, achieving growth of 34.1%.
“There are not enough raw materials on the market"
Demand for semi-finished and finished goods has been ramping up rapidly since the end of 2020, resulting in production and supply bottlenecks and, consequently, in rising manufacturing and procurement costs. The problems within the supply chains further aggravate the situation: The COVID-19 outbreak at the South Chinese port Yantian is adding to the already substantial delivery delays.
Friedmann said: “There are not enough raw materials on the market, which presents us with great challenges, especially when it comes to fasteners, wood connectors, mounting rails and fittings. Continuing to supply our customers quickly and reliably remains our top priority. Further price increases will be unavoidable."
For the full year, Würth Group is expecting growth in the double-digit range, to a total sales volume of around €16 billion, up from €14.4 billion in 2020. While the economy has recovered in recent months, COVID infection rates are dropping as vaccinations go up, the economic research institute Ifo is warning against setbacks caused by the Delta variant.
Robert Friedmann added: "We must not take these strong growth rates for granted. The current situation is very volatile. We have to be prepared for everything."
Würth Group is made up of approx 400 companies, with employee numbers up 2,626, from 79,139 at the end of last year to 81,765 after the first half of 2021. In Germany, the number of employees amounts to 24,971. Around the world, the Würth Group employs more than 33,000 sales reps in the field.
Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG plans to build photovoltaic systems on a total surface area of up to 28,000 square meters in the final construction stage on the campus in Künzelsau and the nearby central logistics hub in Gewerbepark Hohenlohe industrial park in 2022. These systems will fully utilize the internal energy generation potential on the existing roofs. Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG is planning to cover around 20 percent of its power needs on campus with internally generated electricity, e.g. for the charging infrastructure of the growing number of electric fleet vehicles. Adolf Würth GmbH revealed that it will be changing its vehicle fleet over to alternative fuel vehicles in a bid to be more sustainable.
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