Level of orders

The KION Group’s order intake amounted to €9,111.7 million, which was 5.3 per cent higher than the figure for the previous year (2018: €8,656.7 million). The value of order intake improved by 1.9 per cent in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, which bucked the downward trend in the wider market to some extent. In the EMEA region, where the segment generates a lot of its orders, the market contracted significantly. However, the strength of the service business meant that order intake increased nonetheless. In the Supply Chain Solutions segment, the value of order intake went up by 14.3 per cent, primarily driven by a robust performance in the second half of the year. It was also helped by major customer orders that were secured before the end of the year. Currency effects had a positive impact on the value of the KION Group’s overall order intake, raising it by €91.6 million. These effects were predominantly due to the US dollar being stronger on average during the year. Partly due to the uptick in business at the end of the year, the Group’s order book rose by 10.0 per cent to €3,631.7 million as at the reporting date (2018: €3,300.8 million). This provides a good starting point for 2020.