Economic contribution

At the Group level, order intake rose 8.7% to CHF 3.3 billion and the order book was very high at CHF 2.1 billion. Turnover increased by 10.3% to CHF 3.0 billion. EBIT improved by 36.0% to CHF 199 million, reflecting an EBIT margin of 6.7% (prior year: 5.4%). Net profit strongly improved by 35.7% to CHF 154 million (prior year: CHF 113 million). 

The growth in volume came mainly from the Advanced Materials business, where order intake soared by 40.6% to CHF 871 million, nearly doubling its volume within the last two years. Within Advanced Materials, the Die Casting business showed an outstanding performance, growing orders by 60.4%. Turnover in Advanced Materials increased by 31.8% to CHF 671 million. In addition, the Consumer Foods business continued its recovery with strong order intake growth of 21.6% to CHF 710 million, and turnover growth of 13.6% to CHF 578 million. The largest business, Grains & Food, which had been particularly impacted by disrupted supply chains and a slow feed market in China, showed a solid performance. 

The segment saw order intake in 2022 of CHF 1,663 million, down 6.5%, while turnover grew by 2.6% to CHF 1,696 million, and with this managed to keep business very stable through the years of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

To keep the pace of innovation high, expenses for research and development (R&D) remained stable at CHF 141 million (4.7% of turnover) in line with the strategy to be the innovation leader in the industries in which Bühler operates. In 2022, Bühler again expanded its innovation and education ecosystem and entered into several joint ventures and partnerships that will facilitate the transition towards more efficient food and feed production and accelerate the transformation towards sustainable mobility. To strengthen its training offerings, Bühler also announced plans to build a new Grain Innovation Center, where customers and partners will develop, test, and scale sustainable and efficient solutions for grain- and feed-processing, to improve performance of lines and systems, and to continue innovating for the food- and feed-customers globally. 

In 2022, Bühler’s financial position continued to strengthen, with the equity ratio increasing by 2.6pp to 49.8% (prior year: 47.2%). An important milestone was the repayment of the first tranche of the corporate bond of CHF 180 million in December. In 2017, Bühler raised capital on the financial markets for the first time in the form of a CHF 420 million dual tranche bond to invest in its growth and innovation capabilities. The second tranche of the bond of CHF 240 million is due in 2026.  
 

Operating cash flow amounted to CHF 110 million and was impacted by higher profitability and an increase in absolute net working capital. In 2022, net working capital increased by CHF 92 million driven by the growth of turnover and by a targeted increase in inventory to ensure the availability of key components and stock items. Despite this, net liquidity remained on a high level of CHF 308 million compared to CHF 329 million in 2021 (-6.5%). 

Bühler’s Customer Service business (including Single Machines) also grew strongly by 11% and added substantially to the 2022 results with turnover amounting to CHF 955 million, representing a 32% share of Group turnover. Bühler offers a holistic service portfolio with seven modules from hardware, components, and spare parts to upgrading, maintenance, software, and process optimizations for systems, with the objective of improving the performance of the existing asset base of customers in terms of efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Sustainability gained importance in 2022, as services are the fastest lever to reduce energy, waste, and water in existing plants.  

The global Bühler services network comprises 105 service stations, and over 2,000 experts, including 680 field service engineers supporting 500 customers every single day. 

After the launch and initial ramp-up of the extended service portfolio, the new offering received strong market resonance and demand. For instance, remote services more than doubled in 2022 to around 800 agreements; the amount of core machines under a Total Care agreement (Bühler's inspection and maintenance services program) grew by more than 5,000, or 40%, to over 17,000. In addition, more than 130 customer production facilities are benefiting from connected digital services, which enable customers to better monitor, predict, and control production, supported by Bühler’s process experts. 

2022 again proved Bühler’s global network of 30 manufacturing sites, 91 sales offices, and Application & Training Centers in 23 countries to be a key strength of the company. Locally, also in regions with ongoing travel difficulties, Bühler experts were able to serve customers. This enabled Bühler to keep delays resulting from highly stressed supply chains at a minimum. To increase the flexibility and agility of the company’s manufacturing network even further, Bühler expanded its production capabilities in India and Vietnam to serve the Middle East and Africa more directly from these hubs. 

All regions contributed to Bühler’s turnover growth, with the Americas and Middle East Africa & India standing out. Regional growth rates and turnover shares were as follows: Asia 6% growth to 32% turnover share; Europe 3% growth to 30% turnover share; North America 17% growth to 17% turnover share; Middle East Africa & India 24% growth to 16% turnover share; and South America 26% growth to 5% turnover share. With these successes in important markets, Bühler’s global distribution of turnover is very robust and balanced. 

The positive course of Bühler’s business in 2022 is confirmation of the strategy to be a provider of sustainable solutions and services. More than ever, the world demands a turnaround in CO_₂e emissions, loss of biodiversity, and distribution of wealth. It is at the core of Bühler’s strategy to balance the needs of humanity, nature, and the economy in every decision it takes. 

Bühler’s R&D efforts and product and services development were put in the context of improved commercial and sustainability performance. The expenditure on innovation in the past 4 years amounts to more than CHF 500 million. 

In 2022, Bühler continued its innovation promise to sustainably transform value chains, launching roughly 40 new products, including six new core products.

2022 also marked an important milestone for Bühler with the announcement of next level targets with more tangible calculations, goals, and action plans. Bühler has developed a pathway to achieve a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 2030* and has committed to having solutions ready to multiply by 2025 that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers. 

* Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scopes 1 & 2, 2019 baseline. 

2022 marked a milestone in new partnerships involving industry synergies and technological advances aimed at mitigating climate change. With these agreements the company now has a portfolio in place to develop and offer solutions for the whole plant-based protein and food bioprocessing area. 

A new joint venture with Austrian pharmaceutical and biotechnology company ZETA was announced in June. The new company, Eridia, will engineer food and feed biotechnology plants mainly in precision fermentation and cellular agriculture. A new strategic partnership with German engineering company endeco was formed to drive forward pulse processing. In July 2022, Bühler and CN & Partners AG announced a partnership to create Circular Food Solutions Switzerland AG, a company that will produce a Swiss meat alternative based on upcycled spent 

grain from Swiss breweries. A true upcycling solution, produced locally, the product is rich in protein and fiber, and has a low environmental impact. Bühler has also worked with partners Migros and Givaudan to create The Cultured Hub, located in The Valley in Kemptthal near Zurich, to accelerate the future of cultured food processes. 

Bühler and Flottweg SE, Germany signed a cooperation agreement in June 2022 to offer full value chain solutions to customers in the plant-based protein market. An innovation and technology partnership was formed by Bühler and MMS AG in Urdorf, Zurich, in June 2022 to drive the development of high functionality ingredients for sustainable meat and dairy analogues. 

The goal of accelerating impact together with a broader ecosystem was made tangible during the Bühler Networking Days. The event’s focus was a call for immediate joint action, at scale, across a range of issues as the world demands sustainable solutions in feed, food, and mobility. Over June 27 and 28, more than 1,000 leading academics, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators engaged with each other on how to improve energy and food security, reduce waste, cut water usage, lower CO_₂e emissions, improve biodiversity, rethink mobility, and close the gap on wealth distribution. Through technology, innovation, and education the company can create a more sustainable future for all. The strong resonance and 

positive feedback received following the event is a clear sign that industry has taken responsibility. Delegates had traveled from 95 countries and between them represented companies that feed 4 billion of the world’s population and provide mobility for 2 billion people. The event footprint has been estimated at 1,300 tons CO_₂e. This estimation includes flights, food, local transportation, accommodation, and infrastructure. It was compensated through projects with Restor and Climeworks. The projects were chosen to raise awareness of the importance of nature-based solutions, not only in climate contributions, but also to protect and restore biodiversity and generate incomes in rural communities.