Industrial Trucks & Services segment

Business performance and order intake

At 198.3 thousand, the number of new trucks ordered in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment was down by 7.2 percent compared with 2019.

This poorer performance compared with the global market was mainly due to the challenging conditions in the segment’s main sales market, the EMEA region, created by the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of 2020. There was also a sharp increase in competitive pressure in the EMEA region that was primarily due to the continuing expansion of Chinese competitors. However, pent-up demand meant that order numbers in December 2020 were higher than they had been a year earlier. In the APAC region, the segment recorded a year-on-year increase thanks to disproportionately strong growth in China.

The total value of order intake fell by 8.8 percent to €5,776.3 million (2019: €6,330.5 million). The larger decrease in new truck business was due in part to the disproportionately strong decline in order intake for counterbalance trucks, which have significantly higher unit prices. By contrast, the service business was more stable on the whole. Currency effects reduced order intake by a total of €87.3 million.

Revenue

The Industrial Trucks & Services segment’s total revenue decreased by 11.1 percent to €5,699.0 million (2019: €6,410.2 million), due in large part to the revenue shortfalls resulting from lockdown measures in the second quarter and the persistent and significant weakness of the market in the EMEA region. The new truck business saw a particularly sharp fall of 18.3 percent in 2020. By contrast, revenue generated by the segment’s service business went down by just 3.2 percent and thus remained a stabilizing factor. The proportion of the segment’s external revenue accounted for by the service business rose to 52.0 percent (2019: 47.8 percent). Currency effects reduced segment revenue by €84.6 million.

Earnings

The segment’s adjusted EBIT fell by 56.1 percent to €305.5 million in the year under review (2019: €695.1 million). This reduction was due to the significant fall in revenue, higher impairment of working capital, and the underutilization of capacity. The latter was largely due to the general softening of the market caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Earnings were also squeezed by higher amortization charges in connection with the market launch of new products and higher costs for strategic projects. At 5.4 percent, the adjusted EBIT margin was down by a half compared with the previous year (2019: 10.8 percent). In the second half of 2020, there were signs that revenue was stabilizing slightly and that the margin was improving slightly. The latter was also the result of a reduction in variable remuneration on the basis of expected target achievement for 2020.

The expense of €44.8 million for non-recurring items in the reporting year included the €10.7 million impairment loss recognized in respect of Linde Hydraulics GmbH & Co. KG and the expenses of €37.2 million already recognized in connection with the capacity and structural program that has been initiated. Of this amount, €8.6 million was attributable to the restructuring of the UK sales organization, which is now largely complete. After taking into account non-recurring items and purchase price allocation effects, EBIT amounted to €259.8 million (2019: €661.7 million).

Adjusted EBITDA declined to €1,042.8 million (2019: €1,409.5 million), giving an adjusted EBITDA margin of 18.3 percent (2019: 22.0 percent).