12.02.2026

Slower year for Hiab

Loader crane manufacturer Hiab has published its full year and fourth quarter results, with a further fall in revenues and order intake, although profit shows signs of a pick up.

Full year
Total revenues €1.56 billion -6%
Order intake €1.48 billion -2%
Order book/backlog €534 million -18%
Pre-tax profit €202 million -5%

Fourth Quarter
Total revenues €396 million -4%
Order intake €375 million -9%
Pre-tax profit €40.3 million +3%

Chief executive Scott Phillips said: “2025 was a historic year for Hiab. After more than 80 years of pioneering, Hiab became a standalone stock listed company. The year was also characterised by increased trade tensions, which negatively impacted our operating environment. Hence, our orders received remained at the previous two years’ level, and sales declined, especially in the Americas. Despite that, we continued to improve our comparable operating profit margin and produced strong cash flow.”

"Orders received remained at the previous two years’ level, with a gradual recovery in Europe, Africa and the Middle East region, which was offset by a trough in the USA.”

"There was optimism in the market at the beginning of the year, and orders received were encouragingly strong in January. However, the sentiment changed quickly in the coming months, with the intensified trade tensions having a clear impact, especially in the Americas. The delivery equipment market in the US is currently in a trough. On the other hand, the other regions are gradually recovering. For the full year, orders received were at similar levels to the previous two years, but orders declined by 14 percent in the Americas, offset by eight and 10 percent growth in Europe and Asia Pacific."

"We made a strong focus on strategy execution with the ING acquisition, complementing Hiab’s offering in Brazil. We continued to improve our coverage in North America by signing and onboarding new at-scale dealers. Essential to service growth, the number of important ProCare contracts increased to over 25,000 at the end of the year, representing more than 25 percent growth."

"Despite the signs of gradual recovery in Europe, the market environment has remained volatile and uncertain, impacted by trade and geopolitical tensions. Hence, as announced in October, we are planning a programme targeting a €20 million lower cost level in 2026 compared to 2025. I would like to express my thanks to our shareholders, our people, our partners and our customers for their trust in Hiab and for making our historic year a successful one."

Vertikal Comment

On the surface, this does not look like a great start for Hiab as a standalone company, however, it must be remembered that the company was not freed up from the old Cargotec chains until April, and the MacGregor sale had completed.

This has been a busy week for the company in terms of major distribution deals in the USA, with MGX and then Custom Truck. Add to this the ING acquisition in Brazil, which completed in January, and you get a sense that the company is building some real momentum. Moves like this can be transformational, but the deal matters less than how it is managed once done, and this applies to both acquisitions and new dealer appointments.

Hiab has at times in the past been seemingly complacent with its sales, marketing and brand maintenance – if it can be as ‘gung ho’ with this part of the business as it has been with the deals it has been cutting this year, then what we said last year – "watch out Palfinger" might actually be true this year – Fassi too perhaps.

It could be an interesting year in the loader crane market.