05.11.2020

Wacker Neuson holds steady

German telehandler and equipment manufacturer Wacker Neuson has reported its third quarter results.

Total revenues for the nine months to the end of September were €1.19billion, 16.4 percent down on the same period last year. Pre-tax profit was 53.5 percent lower at €53.8 million.

Moving on to the third quarter total revenues were €390.8 million, a fall of 16.5 percent on the same quarter last year. This was made up of €310 million in Europe – just 8.2 percent below the levels achieved in the third quarter 2019. Germany, Austria and Switzerland proved particularly resilient coming in close to last year’s levels, while sales in the UK 'improved markedly, primarily fuelled by continued strong demand for Dual View dumpers, which more than compensated for the restrained investment behaviour among major rental chains'.

Revenues in the Americas dropped 43.1 percent to €65.9 million, partly due to the company’s US production facility having been closed since April. The first production lines started to gradually ramp up towards the end of the third quarter.

Sales in Asia/Pacific were 1.4 percent higher mostly driven by a strong double digit revenue upturn in China and gains in Australia. In contrast revenues in Southeast Asia halved due to the severe impact of the pandemic. Net debt was slashed 46 percent to €276.1 million.

Chief executive Martin Lehner said: “We again experienced a significant decline in revenue in the third quarter related to the coronavirus pandemic, albeit less pronounced than in the second quarter. However, we are also seeing positive changes in our industry that have been triggered or accelerated by the shift in circumstances. Through the crisis, our customers have become much more open to the possibilities of digitalisation and electromobility in particular.”

Vertikal Comment

Another pretty good result from Wacker Neuson, the company continues to make solid progress with its Compact equipment range - which includes telehandlers – now representing more than 51 percent of total sales. Sales in the Americas suffered more than might have been expected, but it does tend to rely on small to medium rental companies and dealers, and according to the company dealers were reluctant to invest in inventory, so perhaps this will lead to a rebound later in the year or at the start of next year?

Once again it is good to see another manufacturer maintaining revenues at profitable levels in spite of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company says that the situation is too volatile to call the full year results, however we would expect it to end the year around 20 percent below last year’s €1.9 billion.