Industrial Trucks & Services segment

Business performance and order intake

In the first six months of 2022, the number of new trucks ordered in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment rose by 11.7 percent to 173.7 thousand. However, order numbers in the second quarter were down by 1.8 percent year on year. Across all regions, the number of units ordered was higher in the first half of 2022 than in the corresponding prior-year period. The increases were substantial in the EMEA and Americas regions.

The total value of order intake went up by 20.0 percent to €4,827.2 million (H1 2021: €4,021.1 million). The 10.9 percent rise in new truck business was largely attributable to higher order intake for counterbalance trucks, with further growth in the proportion of electric forklift trucks. The segment’s intake of warehouse truck orders also increased. In the service business, the value of order intake rose sharply across nearly all categories. Only for used trucks was order intake down on the prior-year period and this was due to the current limited availability.

Currency effects boosted order intake by a total of €55.9 million.

Revenue

At €3,449.4 million, total revenue in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment was up by 10.6 percent on the prior-year period (H1 2021: €3,119.7 million). In this context, the segment particularly benefited from the sizeable order book amassed up to the end of 2021. By contrast, the new truck orders generated in the current year made only a modest contribution to the increase in revenue. The supply of bought-in parts is still disrupted, which resulted in significant delays to the delivery of trucks to customers, especially in the EMEA region. This means that the dynamic list price increases implemented in 2021 and 2022 made barely any contribution to the revenue of the Industrial Trucks & Services segment during the reporting period. The service business grew by 10.4 percent, driven mainly by the aftersales and rental businesses.

At 52.2 percent, the share of the segment’s external revenue generated by the service business was virtually unchanged on the prior-year period (H1 2021: 52.3 percent). Currency effects increased segment revenue by €48.7 million.

Earnings

The adjusted EBIT of the Industrial Trucks & Services segment fell to €197.8 million (H1 2021: €278.6 million). The boost to earnings from revenue growth and lower variable remuneration components was offset by the substantially bigger negative effect of much higher costs for materials, energy, and logistics as well as production inefficiencies resulting from disrupted supply chains. Countermeasures were introduced at an early stage in order to mitigate problems with suppliers and in respect of sales to customers. For the former, this included the adjustment of production processes in response to bought-in parts not being available and the further strengthening and expansion of the supplier network. For the latter, the continued rise in material prices is being passed on to customers. Interim increases in list prices that reflect the current market situation in each case are one of the ways this is being done. However, the price increases will only be reflected in earnings once the segment has worked through the orders received in 2021.

The adjusted EBIT margin declined markedly to 5.7 percent in the period under review (H1 2021: 8.9 percent).

After taking into account non-recurring items and purchase price allocation effects, EBIT fell sharply to €168.2 million (H1 2021: €270.9 million). The non-recurring items in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment amounted to an expense of €29.6 million and predominantly consisted of the impairment losses recognized on business in Russia in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €595.3 million (H1 2021: €650.8 million), giving an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.3 percent (H1 2021: 20.9 percent).