Orell Füssli takes over the teaching materials publisher Hep
Orell Füssli is acquiring a majority stake in the Swiss educational publisher Hep. With this move, Orell Füssli becomes the largest privately held Swiss educational media publisher. The company describes this as a «significant expansion of its portfolio in an attractive market.».
Hep will be continued as an independent publishing house at the Berne site by the existing management team, Orell Füssli announced on Wednesday. According to the information, the company generated sales of around 10 million Swiss francs in 2021 with its 45 employees. By comparison, Orell Füssli sales in 2021 amounted to a good 210 million Swiss francs.
Improved profitability expected
The acquisition is also intended above all to make Orell Füssli more profitable. The industrial and commercial group expects Hep to make a positive contribution to operating profit (EBIT) already in the current year.
Orell Füssli therefore now expects the EBIT margin for 2022 to be at the previous year's level, when it was 7.3%. In March, when presenting the annual figures for 2021, the Group still expected profitability to be slightly below the previous year's level. (SDA)
