Rieter says mills are now operating at 80% of capacity
Textile machinery manufacturer Rieter has reported sales of 254.9 million Swiss francs (CHF) for the first half of 2020. This represents a decline of 39% compared to the same period last year.
The Winterthur-based company said its results had been severely affected by the covid-19 pandemic. Specifically to its yarn spinning machines and other technology, it said many customers had deferred investment in new machines or postponed scheduled deliveries. At the same time, it said the demand for spare parts declined sharply owing to the suspension of production in many spinning mills around the world.
There was a fall of 73% in India, of 49% in China in the six-month period and of 47% in the rest of Asia.
Turkey provided some solace to Rieter. Its sales there more-than doubled, albeit from a low figure in 2019. The company said it associated this upswing in Turkey with a positive reaction to innovations it presented at ITMA in Barcelona in June 2019.
It also said it had noted signs of a market recovery in June 2020. The machinery manufacturer monitors capacity utilisation at more than 600 spinning mills around the world. At the beginning of April 2020, these mills were working at around 40% of capacity. By the end of June 2020, this had improved to around 80%.
