07.11.2011

Tadano moves back into profit

Japanese based crane and access manufacturer Tadano has issued its half year numbers for the six months to the end of September which show a return to profitability.

Revenues climbed by over 22 percent to ¥50.4 billion ($645.5 million) while last year’s net loss of ¥2.95 billion ($37.8 million) was converted to a profit of ¥1.13 billion ($14.5 million) this year, thanks to lower costs and higher volumes.

Looking more closely at the revenues, domestic in Japan were up 12.3 percent to ¥26.14 billion ($334.8 million) or 51.9 percent of the total. Most of the growth was down to aerial lifts and loader cranes – mobile crane sales were flat. Overseas sales grew by 34.5 percent to ¥24.27 billion ($310.9 million).

The company says that European sales were flat while sales in North America, Central and South America, the Middle East and other regions “grew significantly”.

Tadano says that the Japanese economy continued to recover as companies recovered from the major earthquakes earlier this year. It has said that it expects the full year to come in around ¥110 billion ($1.4 billion) with a net profit of ¥2 billion ($25.6 million)

It says: “In the first quarter, the effects of the Great Tohoku Earthquake on the Tadano group forced the temporary shuttering of production lines at the Shido Plant, due to difficulties with parts procurement, which affected sales of mobile cranes. Additionally, delays in the delivery of trucks due to production declines at truck makers in Japan temporarily affected sales of truck loader cranes and the production of aerial work platforms. The group has devoted its combined strength to offsetting these delays in production and sales, resulting in greater sales than anticipated in the second quarter.”

Vertikal Comment

It is encouraging to see the big Japanese company recovering both in terms of sales and a move back into black numbers. While profits are still very thin the company appears to be getting on top of its high cost base made even more critical by the high value of the Yen.

The company is doing well in the Americas but still has a lot to do in Europe where, sales and distribution still varies widely from country to country. The company makes excellent products, arguably some of the best in the business, but it tends to lag behind the other major manufacturers when it comes to distribution and marketing skills in some regions.