Empty cinemas and conference rooms hit Barco hard

In its third quarter, Barco recorded 167.6 million euros in sales, a whopping year-over-year slump of no less than 37 percent. Orders took a 43 percent YOY nosedive. The Kortrijk-based imaging specialist is suffering due to empty cinemas and conference rooms caused by Covid-19. Compared to Q2, however, sales ‘only’ decreased by just over 2 percent, reflecting a decline in Healthcare offset by increases in Entertainment and Enterprise. Orders grew 9 percent sequentially, leaving the order book at 299.1 million on 30 September – 6 percent below end of June.

A breakdown shows some early indications of economic recovery in the Entertainment and Enterprise divisions. Enterprise sales began to rebound in the third quarter as demonstrated by a solid pick-up for both Control Rooms and the Clickshare wireless presentation and collaboration solution. Entertainment saw a modest growth on new-build activity for cinema in EMEA and with services rebounding as cinemas reopen. Activity in Healthcare was weaker across all segments and most pronounced in the Americas region as customers reset delivery schedules based on hospital spending priorities.

“While total company topline for Q3 was flat with Q2, we saw improvements in Enterprise and indications of economic recovery in EMEA and parts of APAC,” comments Barco CEO Jan De Witte. “Healthcare delivered a softer quarter, but its fundamentals remain solid. In Entertainment, although the global Cinema and Events segments are clearly riding a roller-coaster, our longer-term growth opportunities remain unchanged. With Clickshare Conference, positive market receptivity is telling us we have the right product at the right time to enable hybrid workplaces, and we’re continuing to invest in building awareness.”