Trelleborg eyes further growth following ‘record year’

Trelleborg, Sweden – Trelleborg Group has reported a “record year” in 2022, helped by a very strong business performance in the final quarter.

Group sales rose 27% year-on-year to SEK 30 billion (€2.6 billion), including a 35% jump in the final quarter of 2022, said Trelleborg's 27 Jan announcement of results.

Full year earnings (EBIT) were up 30% at SEK5 billion, corresponding to an earnings margin of 16.8%, up from 16.4% reported last year.

“We end the record year of 2022 by reporting yet another strong quarter,” commented CEO and president Peter Nilsson.

Trelleborg, he stated, intends to continue investments in polymer solutions for fast-growing segments in the aerospace industry, healthcare & medical, and “selected industrial niches”.

The expansion programme, according to Nilsson, is to be carried through a combination of acquisitions and focused organic initiatives.

Breaking down the full-year results, Trelleborg Industrial Solutions increased annual sales by 28% to just under SEK14 billion, while earnings rose 42% to SEK1.9 billion.

According to Trelleborg, sales trends were strong in all major geographic regions, with every market segment reporting double-digit organic growth.

“The order book remained strong at the end of the year, although with a slightly lower order intake during the fourth quarter,” the statement added.

Sales within Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (TIS) were up 25% at SEK15.6 billion, while earnings increased 22% to SEK3.5 billion.

While noting a fourth-quarter “slowdown in order intake in some segments”, the unit reported positive developments in all geographies.

North America, said Trelleborg, delivered the strongest performance, while sales in Asia were limited by Covid restrictions in China for most of the year.

TIS sales to all industries performed positively, where deliveries to the aerospace industry and healthcare & medical "stood out with highly robust growth."

Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) – the divestment of which is expected to be completed in the coming months – saw a 32% year-on-year increase in sales to SEK13.7 billion.

Gains at TWS included “good organic sales growth in all tire categories and most geographies during the [fourth] quarter.”

The strong sales, said Nilsson, were primarily underpinned by solid deliveries to OE manufacturers. “In contrast, we noted falling sales to the aftermarket,” he added.

The TWS unit’s profitability increased as a result of effective cost control and price adjustments to counter rising costs, Trelleborg also reported.

The division reported a 46% rise in earnings to SEK1.7 billion, helped by particularly strong performances in North and South America.

Commenting on the short-term outlook, groupwide, Nilsson noted “several macroeconomic signs that we are approaching a cooler period compared with the strong growth seen in 2021/2022.”

Overall, the group’s general assessment, he went on to say, is that demand in the first quarter will be lower than in the fourth quarter.