11.11.2022

Strong quarter for Wacker Neuson

Compact telehandler manufacturer Wacker Neuson has released its third quarter results, with strong revenue growth and improving financial performance.

Nine months YTD
Total revenues improved 18 percent to €1.64 billion with growth across all regions and all equipment types, with Germany the UK and France noted as particularly strong markets. Strongest growth came outside of Europe, but the region still makes up more than 75 percent of the company’s revenues.
Geographically
Europe - €1.24 billion +13%
The Americas - €333 million +37%
Asia Pacific - €65.7 million +38%

Pre-tax profit
Pre-tax profits edged up three percent to €144.3 million, however the extra Euros came from financial income, without which profits would have been flat due to pressure on margins and manufacturing challenges caused by ongoing supply chain issues.

Third quarter
The company posted a record quarterly result in terms of revenues at €568.5 million - up 23.2 percent on the same quarter last year. This was made up as follows:

Geographically
Europe - €415.9 million +15%
The Americas - €130.3 million +55%
Asia Pacific - €22.3 million +50%

Pre-tax profit
Pre-tax profit rebounded with a 25 percent improvement to €54.1 million thanks to an improving situation for production, product mix and price increases.

Chief executive Karl Tragl said: "Even though the challenges are steadily increasing over the course of this year, we have so far succeeded in continuing to grow strongly quarter by quarter and catch up in terms of profitability. Demand from our customers remains high, meaning that our order backlog continues to grow and now extends well into the second half of 2023. From a business perspective, this exceptionally high level of visibility gives us additional planning certainty. "

Chief financial officer Christoph Burkhard added: "Our extremely high order backlog reflects both the continued high demand for our products and the robustness of our business model. It therefore remains our primary goal to be able to meet this demand in the best possible way, even in times of ongoing supply chain issues. Our main focus remains on profitable growth. Accordingly, we have so far made a conscious decision not to reduce inventories in the short term so as not to jeopardise our growth opportunities. Nevertheless, we are working to reduce our net working capital by the end of the year."

Vertikal Comment

An excellent set of numbers from Wacker Neuson, which looks set to achieve its first €2 billion year in 2022, Even though net debt has increased to higher inventory levels and receivables, it remains relatively low. In spite of the challenges it faces, the company has increased its spending on R&D as it moves towards producing more zero emission products. At Bauma it unveiled its first all-electric telehandler, which benefits from the experience it has gained with electric wheel loaders.

All in all, the company is in a really good place with the potential to grow at a faster pace in 2023.