BRONSCHHOFEN, SWITZERLAND -- Cicor Group's PCB division reported sales of CHF23.3 million in the first half, up 5.5%, driven in particular by an increase in demand for printed circuit boards for medical technology.

EBITDA was down 24.1% to CHF3.1 million on significant increases in material and energy costs, which can only be passed on to customers over time.

Overall company sales rose 35.7% to CHF157.7 million ($167 million) in the first half year on organic growth of 15.4% plus acquisitions. EBITDA increased 29.5% to CHF15 million, making the period the best in company history.

Net profit decreased 5.8% year-on-year to CHF4.9 million on strong appreciation of the Swiss franc against the Euro since the beginning of the year and increased financing costs.

New orders were CHF181.8 million, up 30% for the period. The book-to-bill rate was 1.15, down five basis points from a year ago but still above the benchmark 1.0 level suggesting future growth.

The results were enhanced by the acquisition of electronics manufacturing services providers Axis Electronics in December 2021 and SMT Elektronik in May 2022. EMS sales rose 42.2% to CHF135.1 million. Integration of the two companies is proceeding according to plan, and they contribute significant operating profits, resulting in a 63.9% increase in EBITDA to CHF13.8 million.

EBITDA margin was 9.5% overall, and rose 130 basis points to 10.2% for the EMS division, while the Advanced Substrates division margin slipped 520 basis points to 13.2% due to cost increases from suppliers.

Cicor reorganized its divisional structure in January, reassigning its thick-film substrates business at RHe Microsystems to the EMS division. EMS contributed 85.6% of sales in the reporting period, while the AS Division (Advanced Substrates, consisting of the development and production of printed circuit boards and thin-film substrates) delivered 14.4% overall sales.

Cicor reported normalization in order intake while the continuing shortage of certain electronic components hinders faster growth. The high order backlog and the bulging new project pipeline should however compensate for these negative effects during the remainder of 2022, the company said.

Based on the current situation, Cicor expects to sales of CHF300 million to 320 million in 2022 with an EBITDA margin not significantly different from the first half of the year.

1 CHF = 1.06189 USD

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