10.02.2009

Demag up 4%

Demag Cranes, the German based manufacturer of overhead and harbour cranes, has reported first quarter revenues up 4.1 percent €303 million, while Earnings Before Interest and Tax increased 1.9 percent to €30.5 million.

Order intake though dropped €4.6 million during the quarter to €281 million, although its order book remains significantly higher than at the same time last year at €488 million.

Demag says that while demand for its Industrial Cranes products remained positive, with order intake up almost three percent during the quarter, and it note bright spots in the emerging markets. Meanwhile the Port Technology business, which is dependent on worldwide cargo volumes and growth in container handling looks less positive as traffic slows and major projects and investment decisions are postponed order intake as a result slipped.

The company expects this to have a negative effect as the year progresses, but states that over the medium to long term, it expects further growth in global cargo traffic and therefore continuing demand for the relevant handling equipment.

The company’s Services business is showing no signs of being effected at all by the economic slowdown in the past quarter with revenues up over three percent to €85 million, while order intake increased by over nine percent.

The statement says that it does not expect this part of the business to be badly affected by the economic situation, in spite of a possible decline in capacity utilisation for the equipment it maintains.

The company also points out that its funding is secured to at least 2011.