Wacker Neuson bullish with strong results

1651 Wacker Neuson is bullish with its latest financial results, showing record revenue for fiscal 2018 with. The firm saw double-digit growth in group revenue to reach €1.7065 billion, a jump of 11%. The firm benefited from even faster EBIT growth to reach €159.7 million, a jump of 22%, while EBIT margin improved to 9.4%. The firm’s new strategy includes initiatives reduce complexity while its revenue is expected to grow by 4-8% in 2019

The Wacker Neuson Group says that business grew across all regions and business segments. The firm benefited from the continued expansion of the global construction industry, strong demand in its core markets of Europe and North America and the systematic expansion of its sales activities in North America and Asia. At the same time, it says that profitability was assisted by streamlined cost structures and the realisation of economies of scale.

“We remained on our growth path this past fiscal year, reporting new record revenue for the period,” explained Martin Lehner, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE. “We achieved our revenue and earnings forecast despite having to contend with bottlenecks in our global supply chain. This did mean, however, that we were not always able to fully meet the strong demand for our equipment and machines.”

Europe remained the most important target region, accounting for 73.2% of revenue. Revenue for the region grew 10.5% to €1.2489 billion. Germany was the largest single market and a key growth driver, flanked by Poland, Austria, England, France, Spain and Benelux countries. The collaboration between the subsidiary Kramer and US manufacturer 257 John Deere continued to develop positively.

Revenue for the Americas rose 11.3% to €397.8 million. Adjusted for currency effects, revenue increased by 16.7%. Business development benefited from strong demand in the North American rental industry, in particular for light equipment. Sales of skid steer loaders manufactured in the US increased as a result of improved market penetration. In line with its strategy for the region, the Group is focusing on developing exclusive, highly qualified sales partners known as anchor dealers. Sales of compact equipment manufactured in Europe also rose as a result of the Group’s increased market presence.

Revenue for Asia-Pacific rose sharply by 28.3% to €59.8 million. Adjusted for currency effects, this corresponds to an increase of 35%. China and Australia were the key growth drivers in this region. Last year, the Group bundled its production activities for Southeast Asia at a new plant in China at a site in Pinghu, near Shanghai.