Despite the more subdued market conditions, the KION Group continued along its growth trajectory in 2012 and consolidated its market position as the second largest provider worldwide and as number one in the European market.
Bucking the negative market trend, the number of new industrial trucks ordered remained relatively stable. In western Europe, LMH and STILL benefited from their premium position and strong sales network. The KION companies in Italy and France both performed better than the declining market, while in the UK, KION even surpassed market growth. In Germany, KION's unit sales declined largely in line with the market trend.
KION outperformed the largely flat market in eastern Europe and registered a year-on-year increase in unit sales in the emerging Russian market. Unit sales rose in the Asia-Pacific region too, with KION gaining market share in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia. In Central and South America, KION significantly expanded its market share. Moreover, it was able to maintain the number of new trucks ordered at a high level in its largest individual market, Brazil, despite the decline in demand there.
At €4,700 million, order intake was slightly above the level of the previous year (2011: €4,682 million). With unit sales of new trucks declining slightly, this small increase was due, above all, to a higher proportion of trucks with bespoke fittings and a different product mix. Price rises on the back of the implementation of new environmental and safety standards also had an impact, as did exchange rate differences. As the year progressed, the economic situation dampened the market for new trucks.
|
Order intake broken down by segment |
|
|
|
|
in € million |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
LMH |
2,978 |
3,107 |
-4.2% |
|
STILL |
1,577 |
1,752 |
-10.0% |
|
Financial Services |
509 |
- |
- |
|
Other & consolidation/reconciliation |
-364 |
-178 |
<-100% |
|
Total |
4,700 |
4,682 |
0.4% |
Measured in terms of the number of new trucks ordered, KION saw a moderate increase in its global market share, which expanded from 14.8 per cent in 2011 to 15.0 per cent in 2012. The Group's share of the market for counterbalance trucks was 11.6 per cent and for warehouse trucks 20.5 per cent. Slightly higher percentages were registered for global market share measured in terms of value because the KION companies have a particularly strong presence in the premium price segment.
The order book for new trucks totalled a high level of €808 million.
