The Wacker Neuson Group, which encompasses the Wacker Neuson, Kramer and Weidemann brands, reported a marked rise in revenue and earnings during the first six months of 2018.
Revenue for the first half of this year rose by 8% – to a new record high of €825 million. In contrast, revenue during the first half of 2017 was €764 million.
Adjusted for currency effects, it corresponds to an increase of 12%.
Agricultural sector
According to the company, revenue growth was “driven primarily by continued high levels of demand in the construction market and strong performance in the European agricultural sector“.
However, it says, bottlenecks among some suppliers prevented machines from being completed for some customer orders; this dampened overall (financial) performance.
Furthermore, says the entity, unfavorable currency developments, in particular the US dollar’s weakness against the euro, resulted in negative effects.
In Europe, which is the group’s largest sales market, revenue for the first half of 2018 rose by 8% to €599 million (up from €556 million during the first half of 2017). This region’s share of overall group revenue remained unchanged at 73%.
Kramer and Weidemann
“Our strong performance in this region was fuelled by a buoyant construction market, positive development of our Kramer and Weidemann brands in the agricultural sector and growth in our services segment, which includes our maintenance and spare parts business,” explained Martin Lehner, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE.
Revenue for the Americas region rose by 9% to €202 million (up from €185 million during the first half of last year).
The weak US dollar had a particularly strong impact in this region. When adjusted for currency effects, revenues rose by 21%.
The company claims that “a high level of investment activity among rental chains in North America and strong sales of compact equipment had a positive effect on business”.
Lehner explained: “Our skid-steer loaders manufactured in the US are key products in our compact equipment portfolio, helping us to win more market share in the region with other products such as excavators and dumpers.”
Revenue in the Asia-Pacific region rose by 4% to €24 million (up from €23 million during the first half of 2017).
