Record growth, rising profitability
Note: If not otherwise indicated, changes from the previous year are based on organic figures (adjusted for currency effects, acquisitions and divestitures/deconsolidations).
In 2023, the Services division achieved its strongest growth in recent history and continues to strengthen its portfolio as the most complete player in the market. Driven by ongoing demand for energy and our customers’ efforts to optimize their operations, order intake rose by 19.8% compared to 1.6% in 2022. Sales also grew by 14.5% in 2023, supporting an overall increase in profitability to 14.8%.
Improving sales and operational effectiveness
The Services division continues to strengthen its offering by applying new technologies and investing in its service infrastructure. In 2023, a new Service Center was opened in Germany to better serve customers in the Dresden area and wider region. Substantial upgrades were also made in Houston and Batton Rouge, both in the USA. These investments support faster, more sustainable and differentiated service offerings for our customers.
Robust market momentum in 2023, combined with strong execution by the service teams, helped the division reach more customers and achieve exceptional revenue growth. In Nigeria, for example, the division delivered a turnkey solution on a compressor, after which a long-time pump customer expanded its service support to include turbines and motors. Also in Africa, the division is working with water utility companies to deliver planned refurbishments to some dozen pump sets that power critical water infrastructure.
While reducing downtime and costs for customers, the division’s retrofit solutions are also providing benefits in improved sustainability. For a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel being relocated to the North Sea, the division recently delivered an innovative retrofit that reduces the power utilization of the water injection pumps. In China, a modular retrofit solution helped a gas turbine powerplant reduce its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, delivering efficiency gains, longevity and emissions compliance. In Indonesia, the division’s critical turbine repair at a hydropower plant is enabling cleaner energy production and significant cost savings.
Key figures Services
|
millions of CHF |
|
2023 |
|
2022 |
|
Change in +/–% |
|
+/–% adjusted 1) |
|
+/–% organic 2) |
|
Order intake |
|
1’271.3 |
|
1’171.3 |
|
8.5 |
|
18.5 |
|
19.8 |
|
Order intake gross margin |
|
38.7% |
|
38.9% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Order backlog as of December 31 |
|
547.3 |
|
492.9 |
|
11.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
Sales |
|
1’154.8 |
|
1’117.0 |
|
3.4 |
|
12.6 |
|
14.5 |
|
EBIT 3) |
|
179.6 |
|
54.0 |
|
> 100 |
|
|
|
|
|
Operational profit |
|
171.3 |
|
159.0 |
|
7.8 |
|
19.4 |
|
20.8 |
|
Operational profitability |
|
14.8% |
|
14.2% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employees (number of full-time equivalents) as of December 31 |
|
4’630 |
|
4’559 |
|
1.5 |
|
|
|
|
1) Adjusted for currency effects.
2) Adjusted for acquisition, divestiture/deconsolidation and currency effects.
3) 2022 was impacted by write-offs related to Russia and Poland.
Strong order intake
All product lines across all regions demonstrated robust growth in 2023. The Americas outperformed the others with a growth rate of 27.9%, leading to overall growth for the division of 19.8%. The Asia Pacific region grew by 8.7%. Europe, the Middle East and Africa also strengthened its position with a growth of 14.3%, strongly supported by traditional markets.
Order intake by market segment
2023
Order intake by region
2023
Operating margins improving at high levels
Sales grew to CHF 1’154.8 million in 2023 (+14.5%), with all regions contributing to the improved margins. Strict cost control and strategic price management further supported the results.
Safety performance in 2023
In 2023, the Services division’s accident frequency rate (AFR) remained at a very low level of 0.9 cases per million working hours (2022: 1.0). Its accident severity rate (ASR) further decreased to 19 lost days per million working hours, down from 23.7 the previous year.
A major “Stop Work” safety initiative was launched by Services in 2023, which was rolled out Group-wide. Developed to reinforce risk awareness of employees, the initiative granted individual employees the authority to stop a work activity if they observed a tangible risk of injury. The highly successful initiative is credited for safety improvements across the company.
Abbreviations
EBIT: Earnings before interest and taxes
For the definition of the alternative performance measures, please refer to “Supplementary information.”