A good first half of the year was followed by a sharp slowdown in business during the second half, so the Vetropack Group is closing the 2023 fiscal year with a stable operating result at the same level as in the prior year. Especially in the second half of the year, however, the Group also felt the effects of a noticeable downturn in consumer demand as a consequence of inflation. At CHF 898.8 million, net sales from goods and services were more or less the same as in the prior year.
After adjustments for currency effects, the Group was able to increase net sales from goods and services by 2.8 percent. Consolidated EBIT rose to CHF 91.3 million (prior year: CHF 89.1 million). Below the line, the Group is posting a profit of CHF 63.3 million (prior year: CHF 40.7 million).
2023 will go down in Vetropack’s records as a difficult fiscal year. It’s already possible to see that 2024 is following on seamlessly from the weak second half of the preceding year.
Vetropack Group will therefore be focusing on efficiency even more intensively than in 2023: alongside proactive management of capacities, this means that the Group will concentrate on reducing costs. This also applies to human resources, and in particular to restraint regarding the creation of new positions as well as new appointments to existing positions. Planned investments in the Group’s plants will also be deferred as far as possible.
Irrespective of these measures, the company reserve the option of temporarily shutting down further
lines and furnaces at individual sites if a change in the market situation necessitates such steps.
Vetropack already announced a difficult decision a few days ago: the company is currently reviewing the closure of the production at the site in St-Prex, Switzerland, probably in the second half of 2024. The consultation process on the future of the production site is already open.. Should this come to pass, it would be a drastic step for Vetropack: St-Prex is not merely the only plant in the Group’s home market of Switzerland: it is also Vetropack Group’s parent plant. For the employees in St-Prex, furthermore, this would mean that the majority of their jobs would cease to exist.
Regardless of the outcome of the consultation process, Switzerland will remain Vetropack Group’s home and one of its core markets. At all events, Vetropack will continue its commitment to glass recycling (Vetrorecycling) in collaboration with its Swiss partners at municipal level.