01.09.2003

Liebherr down in 2002

Liebherr has reported a slight drop in its mobile crane sales for the 2002 business year. The figures, taken from the company’s recently published annual report, indicate a drop of €12.4 million (£8.61 million) from €919.3 million (£638.09 million) in 2001 to €906.9 million (£622.49) in 2002. Mobile crane sales contributed 22.3 per cent to Liebherr’s total turnover of €4,069 million (£2,824.32 million), which itself was down by 1.5 per cent on 2001’s figure.

Despite the fall, however, turnover in the Maritime Cranes division, comprising ship, offshore, container and mobile dock cranes, increased by just over 4 per cent on 2001’s performance of €239 million (£169.89) to €248.6 million (£172.55 million) in 2002. The division was accountable for 6.1 per cent of the group’s total turnover.

Although not listed separately, tower crane sales suffered during the 2002 period as highlighted in the report which says: ‘The recessive market in Germany had a lasting impact on the tower crane industry.’ A fall of 1.4 per cent to €316.1 million (£219.41 million) in 2002 for the Construction Cranes and Mixing Technology division, under which tower cranes are categorised, reiterates slow tower crane sales during the period as sales in the mixing technology sector actually increased significantly.

The report also says that the group’s total turnover in the first half of 2003 also decreased slightly by €54 million (£37.48 million) to €1,870 million (£1,297.98 million), a fall of 2.8 per cent on 2001’s performance. The company says that it doesn’t expect to see moderate growth in the European construction sector until at least 2004, but the pattern of incoming orders in many of the group’s product areas hints at a turnaround.

In 2002, Liebherr maintained a 40 per cent market share in the all terrain crane market, delivering in excess of 900 machines out of the 2,260 units that were sold around the world during the period.