08.02.2023

Konecranes on the up

Finnish port, industrial/overhead crane and reachstacker manufacturer Konecranes has posted a solid fourth quarter.

Full year

Full year sales were €3.36 billion - up 5.6 percent on 2021 - although pre-tax profits were marginally lower at €190.7 million. Order intake for the year was €3.93 billion, almost 24 percent higher than the year before, leaving the order book at year end 42 percent higher at €2.9 billion. Net debt at the end of the year was €688 million, up 27 percent on the year.

Fourth quarter

Fourth quarter order intake was flat at €879 million, while sales improved 7.6 percent to just over €1 billion, with a pre-tax profit of €99.1 million, up 21.4 percent on the year.

Chief executive Anders Svensson said “2022 was a year like no other, without question. In addition to the terrible war in Ukraine, we faced accelerated inflation, continued global supply chain constraints and increased market uncertainty - all this while still dealing with Covid-19. Despite the many challenges, Konecranes ended 2022 with a solid performance. Order intake remained good, and delivery capability continued to improve. Our quarterly and full-year adjusted EBITA margins did not reach last year’s levels, but Konecranes has demonstrated its ability to navigate in the most challenging of environments, and I am proud of the hard work and dedication of our whole team.”

“Finally, I am proud and excited to lead Konecranes as its new chief executive. At the time of my appointment, I referred to Konecranes as a global industry leader with strong heritage, unique offering and footprint, and great people. My first months at the company have only confirmed my initial impressions. Konecranes has many good qualities to build on, and we have much to achieve. That said, a lot of work lies ahead of us. Together with the Konecranes Leadership Team, I look forward to hosting our Capital Markets Day in Helsinki on May 10, 2023, to share what’s next for our company.”

Vertikal Comment

This was a very eventful year for Konecranes, given that in March the merger plans with Cargotec were abandoned following almost a year of preparation and gaining all of the regulatory approvals, followed by a profit warning in July and the appointment of a new chief executive who only started in October.
All said and done it is a perfectly decent result.