Revenue
The LMH segment's revenue went up by 9.8 per cent to €3,132 million in 2012 (2011: €2,854 million). This equates to 66.3 per cent of consolidated revenue (2011: 65.3 per cent).
The new truck business grew at a particularly strong rate, rising by 16.0 per cent year on year and thereby exceeding the budgeted figure. All product groups contributed to this increase, with electric forklift trucks proving to be the main growth driver. The number of trucks ordered of this type rose by 2.3 per cent, thereby bucking the global market trend. Strong growth in Asia and the Americas resulted in a rise of 3.4 per cent for diesel trucks despite the market's overall weakness, while warehouse technology also outperformed the market with a decline of just 0.5 per cent.
Service revenue rose on the back of maintenance carried out in response to individual orders as well as under service agreements. LMH's rental business performed better than in 2011 owing to growth in short-term rentals. Sales of used trucks generated less revenue than in the previous year, although the prior-year figure had been boosted by a significant one-off transaction.
LMH saw particularly strong revenue growth in Germany and the United Kingdom. Revenue was also up in Russia and other eastern European countries thanks to more intensive marketing activities. In China, the Linde and Baoli brands bucked the negative market trend and increased their revenue. In fact, revenue in Asia as a whole increased from what had already been a high level the previous year.
Earnings
EBIT more than doubled, from €258 million in 2011 to €523 million in 2012. The crucial factor here was a one-off gain – the sale of the majority stake of the hydraulics business – which totalled €247 million in the LMH segment. EBIT also included an additional one-off gain amounting to €13 million, resulting from the remeasurement made in connection with the acquisition of the remaining 51 per cent of the shares in Linde Creighton. A gain of €3 million generated by the sale of the plot of land in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, was largely offset by follow-up costs caused by the closure of the plant there. Total one-off and non-recurring items amounted to a gain of €226 million. One-off items had amounted to an expense of €5 million in 2011. The KION acquisition items attributable to the LMH segment amounted to an expense of €33 million in 2012, compared with an expense of €26 million in 2011. Adjusted EBIT increased by €51 million to €330 million (2011: €279 million). Apart from the growth in earnings, the reason for this rise was the programme of measures designed to cut costs and boost efficiency. As a result, the adjusted EBIT margin improved from 9.8 per cent in 2011 to 10.5 per cent in 2012. Adjusted EBITDA in the LMH segment came to €478 million (2011: €423 million), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.3 per cent (2011: 14.8 per cent).
