Der Blätterkatalog benötigt Javascript.
Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript in Ihren Browser-Einstellungen.
The Blätterkatalog requires Javascript.
Please activate Javascript in your browser settings.
18 EMS Guide 2020 www markttechnik de Strategien & Trends On course for success despite Corona Our growth objectives are very ambitious With 13 factories in 9 countries GPV is a European EMS heavyweight with a global footprint Despite Corona GPV has performed well so far this year and will not be distracted from its ambitious growth targets CEO Bo Lybaek and Executive Vice President DACH Thomas Kaiser in an interview with Markt&Technik Markt&Technik How do you view 2020 so far in retrospect? Bo Lybaek We knew from the beginning of the year that 2020 would be different to recent years The global economy had been growing for several years and there were ominous signs that a turnaround was imminent As we all know this has now happened but for reasons which we like everyone else were not aware of at the beginning of January By the end of the second quarter we knew much more about the extent of the corona pandemic So far we have weathered the first phase well We have lost some sales but thanks to good cost management we are still optimistic and our cash flow is quite solid GPV is active in 13 locations worldwide How has Corona affected your factories? Lybaek GPV currently operates a total of thirteen manufacturing facilities in Austria China Denmark Germany Mexico Slovakia Sri Lanka Switzerland and Thailand At all of our locations comprehensive safety precautions have been taken which comply with European standards and for example enable compliance with the twometer rule for physical distance The factory in China was closed for much of February and early March due to Corona The Sri Lanka site was closed for three weeks in March and April However in the meantime all signs are back to green With 13 production sites how do you manage to stay on top of issues related to Corona? Do you have a special monitoring system that also keeps customers uptodate? Lybaek We have monitored the situation very closely to ensure that we can provide detailed information both internally and externally We continue to give our customers a weekly status report at all thirteen locations GPV published good first quarter results the second quarter also seems to have gone well How would you describe the current situation as of the beginning of August? Lybaek Putting it into figures GPV enjoyed acceptable visibility at the beginning of the second quarter but the situation could change slightly It is still too early to say anything concrete about the third and fourth quarters or to give an accurate forecast for 2020 as a whole Instead the previous forecast which anticipated revenues of 2 8 billion Danish Krone DKK and an EBITDA Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization in the range of DKK 210 to 240 million has been suspended for the time being It will be interesting to see how the incoming order situation develops over the next quarters In particular Ihave some concerns regarding the USA We believe that we have a reasonable view of how our company will be affected by Corona but it is still too early to quantify the demand crisis that will inevitably follow It goes without saying that we will monitor the situation closely and are ready to respond quickly and effectively And how do you see the situation in terms of market segments? Thomas Kaiser GPV benefits from the fact that we supply a wide range of industries In principle business has been very stable so far partly because we have engaged well with the medical industry This has compensated for some of the things we lost in the transportation industry Declining export figures particularly in the special machinery market are reflected in our order books As Isaid medical electronics as well as the semiconductor sector are doing very well In the industrial market which has traditionally been the largest segment for GPVs products its a mixed picture some industrial groups are doing quite well while others are severely affected Lybaek Overall it is really difficult to predict how a recovery scenario might pan out During times of crisis our customers tend behave quite unpredictably Those who are enjoying high growth rates are buying more from us while others hardly buy anything at all Here we benefit from the fact that we have not tailored our production to just a few large product groups or customers Instead we remain agile and can therefore adapt quickly to serve those customers who are growing during the crisis Our many years of experience in the Bo Lybaek GPV We are focused 100 percent on the highmix lowvolume sector and we have a fantastic customer base including many Hidden Champions Even though we plan to continue to grow our goal is to maintain close proximity to our customers