29.10.2024

Palfinger slips back

Austrian crane and aerial lift manufacturer Palfinger has posted slightly lower third quarter sales and profits

Total revenues for the nine months to the end of September were €1.75 billion three percent lower than the in same period last year. Order intake for the main business continues to slow, leaving the order book 27 percent lower at €972 million, the lowest level since 2021.

Both major markets of Europe and North America were slower, with high dealer inventory levels in the larger European market, while sales in the Asia Pacific region improved – thanks to ongoing growth in loader crane sales in India.
Pre-tax profit slipped 11 percent to €124.9 million, while net debt at the end of September was €758.8 million, 5.5 percent higher than at this point in 2023.

Third quarter revenues for the quarter slipped 2.5 percent to €575 million, while pre-tax profit slumped 22 percent to €34.4 million.

Full year and 2024 outlook

Palfinger is forecasting a five percent fall in full year revenues to around €2.3 billion with and pre-tax and interest profit in the region of €189 million. It expects the European region to remain flat while being positive about the Americas, Asia Pacific and the marine crane business. In spite of this it expects to reach at least €3 billion in revenues by 2027, assuming no acquisitions.

Chief executive Andreas Klauser said: "Our geographical and product diversification has been a decisive resilience factor in the first three quarters. Given the volatile economic situation, we are actively tackling the challenges, increasing the attractiveness of our portfolio, intensifying customer proximity in growth regions and implementing cost-cutting measures."

Vertikal Comment

While this looks a tad of a downer compared to several years of forever upwards, it is actually a fairly decent set of numbers given the current uncertainties and the comparison with a record year in 2023.

The company remains in good shape in terms of product range, reputation and balance sheet. Plans are afoot however to “Further adjust European production capacities” while it is clearly needed its impact will very much depend on how the policy is implemented – as is always the case.

At this point the company looks set for a decent year by historical standards.