31.07.2018

Record revenues for Palfinger

Loader crane and aerial lift manufacturer Palfinger has reported a record revenues for the first half.

Total revenues were €801.87 million, 6.4 percent up on the same period last year, almost entirely due to higher loader crane sales in Europe and North America. Europe now represents 53.1 percent of revenues, and North America 21 percent.

The group’s Land division which largely comprises loader cranes and aerial work platforms, improved 10 percent to €687 million with higher sales in Europe and North America partly offset by flat sales in South America with operations in Russia suffering from sanctions, while the Sany joint venture in China saw revenues improve 30 percent, albeit from a relatively low base. The divisions operating profits improved 10.5 percent to €117.7 million.

In contrast the Sea division which includes a whole gamut of mostly acquired businesses that serve the marine and offshore oil & gas industries saw revenues shrink 11 percent to €114.9 million, while operating profits were more than halved to €2.8 million.

Group pre-tax profit for the period was five percent higher at €62.2 million. The company says that the two year restructuring process for its North American business is now complete, while order intake for its Sea division is gradually improving.

In the second quarter total revenues were four percent higher at $407.6 million, while pre-tax profits increased seven percent to €32.4 million.

Vertikal Comment

Palfinger has struggled a little with production bottlenecks which has extended some lead times and expanded its order book at the start of the year. It is now moving beyond this and should see the benefits flow through in the second half. The Sea division however still seems to be suffering from a mini meltdown with recovery looking as though it could take a while.

Palfinger has plenty of strong points on which to build, and now has its new chief executive Andreas Klauser on board with the senior management team complete. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on the second half.