Revenue

Consolidated revenue increased at a markedly higher rate than order intake, advancing by 8.2 per cent year on year to €4,727 million (2011: €4,368 million). Both the sale of new trucks and the service business contributed to this rise. KION also benefited from the high degree of capacity utilisation of the industrial trucks in use in its key markets, which had a positive impact on the volume of replacement investments and on demand for service.

Revenue by product category

Revenue from new trucks went up by 12.1 per cent to €2,651 million (2011: €2,364 million), one of the main reasons being the strong order book from 2011. Targets were exceeded both in the LMH segment and the STILL segment. A significant factor here was the substantial demand for electric forklift trucks and warehouse trucks, which was fulfilled by increasing the utilisation of production capacities.

Service business contributed €1,907 million (2011: €1,831 million) to consolidated revenue and thereby accounted for 40.4 per cent of revenue (2011: 41.9 per cent). The growing number of truck fleets covered by service agreements and the high level of truck utilisation pushed up demand for maintenance services. Muted demand from southern Europe decreased revenue to a moderate degree. Both short-term and long-term truck rentals declined slightly compared with the previous year. Revenue from the sale of used trucks was also slightly lower than it had been in 2011. Among other reasons, this was because demand from southern and eastern Europe was lower than anticipated.

KION sold the majority of its hydraulics business on 27 December 2012. The amount of revenue contributed by the hydraulics business amounted to €168 million in 2012 – a marginal change compared to the previous year (2011: €173 million).

Revenue by region

KION's revenue went up in all of its sales regions, with revenue growth exceeding market growth in many countries. Around half of the €358 million increase in revenue was attributable to emerging markets in Asia, South America and eastern Europe.

Germany and its neighbouring western European countries also accounted for a considerable proportion (44 per cent) of the absolute rise in consolidated revenue. Here the KION companies benefited from a higher proportion of trucks with customer-specific fittings and the intrinsic link between new truck business and service business. Expansion of the sales network, which continued in countries such as the United Kingdom in 2012, also helped to improve KION's market position.

The above-average rise in revenue from eastern Europe was largely due to the revenue increases in Russia resulting, among other reasons, from an intensification of sales and service activities. Revenue also went up in Poland and the Czech Republic.

As in 2011, KION maintained a high level of growth in Asia. The strategy pursued in this region is to offer specific products that are based on tried-and-tested platforms but tailored to local requirements. This was a significant factor in the 11.7 per cent rise in revenue compared with the previous year. For the first time, the Asia-Pacific markets generated more than 10 per cent of consolidated revenue, above all as a result of strong growth in China, to which the local Baoli brand made a significant contribution.

In the Americas, KION achieved moderate revenue growth despite the challenging economic situation in South America, primarily due to the volume of new orders in the Brazilian market. It should also be noted that the full effects of the considerable expansion of production capacity during the year have not yet been felt.

Overall, the volume of foreign revenue increased disproportionately by 9.6 per cent to €3,501 million (2011: €3,194 million), causing the share in Group sales to climb from 73.1 per cent to 74.1 per cent. The fast-growing emerging markets contributed 30 per cent of consolidated revenue, compared with 22 per cent in 2011.