Research & development
The KION Group spent €88.0 million on research and development (R&D) in the first nine months of 2014, up by 2.9 per cent compared with the same period of the previous year (Q1 – Q3 2013: €85.5 million). This total amount included capitalised development costs of €31.5 million. Expressed as a proportion of revenue, this total R&D expenditure remained steady at 2.6 per cent.
The number of full-time jobs in R&D stood at 1,024 as at 30 September 2014 (31 December 2013: 944).
The main R&D projects in 2013 continued during the reporting period. They are described in detail in the 2013 group management report. The focus was on developing platform concepts for China and other growth markets and reducing the harmful emissions and energy consumption of industrial trucks, for example through the introduction of new drive concepts such as lithium-ion batteries.
Linde Material Handling launched new reach trucks on the market in August. These entry-level models are designed for lighter to medium-duty applications with a load capacity of between 1.0 and 1.6 tonnes. Two new tow tractors with a towing capacity of 6 – 8 tonnes also made their debut. In the third quarter, STILL brought out a refrigerated warehouse variant of its FMX NG reach truck, which had premiered in April. >> Table 17
Total R&D spending |
>>TABLE 17 |
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in € million |
Q3 2014 |
Q3 2013 |
Change |
Q1 – Q3 2014 |
Q1 – Q3 2013 |
Change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development costs (P&L) |
29.7 |
30.0 |
–1.0% |
87.8 |
88.7 |
–1.0% |
Amortisation expense |
–10.8 |
–11.8 |
8.6% |
–31.3 |
–34.1 |
8.3% |
Capitalised development costs |
9.9 |
10.0 |
–1.6% |
31.5 |
30.9 |
1.9% |
Total R&D spending |
28.8 |
28.2 |
2.0% |
88.0 |
85.5 |
2.9% |
R&D spending as percentage of revenue |
2.5% |
2.6% |
− |
2.6% |
2.6% |
− |