Net sales in the Composite Materials Business increased by 13% year-on-year from CHF 227.3 million in 2013 to CHF 256.7 million in 2014.
In Gurit's Composite Materials Business, demand in the Wind Energy business increased by 11.8%, boosted by the markedly recovered Asian market. Ongoing technology change in wind blade production and the related lower demand for glass prepreg products was compensated by stronger core material sales to Wind Energy customers and strong sales of carbon prepreg products to the American market. Material supply to other markets grew by 14.2% essentially due to strong deliveries to the Marine market, particularly in Europe.
Gurit`s Composite Systems and Engineering Business continued to show growth, with net sales increased by 46.9% from CHF 53.8 million in 2013 to CHF 79.1 million in 2014. Improved output of automotive exterior components as well as higher order intakes in Tooling from the wind energy business uptake in Asia were the main drivers for this significant improvement in 2014. Sales in the Engineered Structures business grew by 28.7% from CHF 6.1 million in 2013 to CHF 7.9 million in 2014, driven by the growth in demand for bus components.