The German company, which supplies standard and process factory cranes and rope and chain hoists as part of its offering, saw a drop in demand for its industrial cranes from mature markets as the economic and financial downturn took hold around the world. However, it said emerging markets had offered growth potential.
This contrast saw the segment’s revenue and operating earnings before interest and tax up 8.2% to EUR153.5m ($199m) and 38.7% to EUR13.2m ($17m) respectively in the three months to December 31, 2008. Order intake for industrial cranes was also up 2.9% to EUR150.4m ($195m), with the order book growing 32% year-on-year to EUR336.2m ($436m).
Its port technology segment was hit by a decline in cargo volumes on main container routes, and saw revenue down 4.1% to EUR64.3m and operating earnings before interest and tax down 45.6% to EUR1.6m. Order intake fell 38.8% to EUR40.5m and the value of its order book was down 23.6% to EUR97.6m.
The services segment, including maintenance, modernisation and spare part sales, was buoyed by the fact that equipment needs to be maintained “as usual in the interests of safety, reliability and availability”. This saw revenue rise by 3.6%, order intake up by 9.4%, and the company’s orders book up 14%.
Overall, the group saw its order intake dip 4.6% to EUR281.3m, with its order book growing 13.5% to EUR488.1m. Revenue was up 4.1% to EUR303m and net income after tax up 3% to EUR18.2m.
Continuing financial and economic turmoil has meant Demag’s management board has declined to issue a full-year forecast for 2008/09, instead waiting for the end of the second quarter to determine whether it is “appropriate for us to issue a firm year-end forecast,” said CEO Harald Joos.
