Ucima: sales pick up in Q1 2021 driven by the Italian market

Sales revenue was 9.2% higher than in March 2020 due to significant growth in the domestic market (+28.8%). The average number of months of guaranteed production is increasing again.

Based on the sample of companies monitored by the Mecs-Ucima research centre, the turnover of Italian packaging machine manufacturers remained in positive territory in the first quarter of 2021, with 9.2% growth over the same period in 2020. This growth is driven by the domestic market, which saw a 28.8% upturn, while foreign market growth is more moderate (+4.9%).

Order collection figures also saw further improvement in the first quarter of 2021, both at home and abroad, with an overall increase of 10.5% compared to the same period last year. Overseas demand grew by 4.5% and domestic demand by 43.2% in the first quarter. This exceptional recovery is also due to the effects of the national lockdown that began in March 2020.

Expectations for the coming months remain stable in both the domestic and export markets, with the outlook most positive in the Food, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals sectors.

As a result of these figures, guaranteed production has increased to 6.3 months compared to 5.6 months in December. The quarterly survey reveals greater dynamism in after-sales service than in direct sales of machinery.

“The first quarter figures are very reassuring and confirm that a recovery is underway both in Italy and globally,” comments Ucima’s chairman Matteo Gentili. “We still have a long way to go, with question marks regarding the full resolution of the pandemic and increasingly fierce competition from competitors, but the road forward is clear and the sector we represent will emerge from the crisis even stronger than before”.