Industrial Trucks & Services segment

Business performance and level of orders

Due to the slowdown in market growth, the number of new trucks ordered in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment fell by 32.0 percent compared with the prior-year quarter to 59 thousand. Order numbers had been boosted in 2022 due, for example, to the effect of customers bringing forward their purchases in response to extended shipping times resulting from the limited availability of parts and materials and to the price increases that had been announced. This meant that the figures for the reporting quarter were well down on the prior-year period, particularly in the EMEA and Americas regions. Unit sales in the APAC region also fell short of the level reached in the first quarter of 2022.

The value of order intake decreased year on year by 6.0 percent to €1,956.5 million (Q1 2022: €2,082.1 million). In the new truck business, the decline in the number of units sold was partly offset by the price increases. There was a significant increase in the value of order intake in the service business, driven mainly by the aftersales and rental businesses.

Revenue

Total revenue in the ITS segment was up by 16.7 percent to €2,004.8 million (Q1 2022: €1,718.4 million). The segment continued to work through the sizeable order book built up in the prior year, which was among the factors that had a positive impact on its revenue growth. This meant it was possible, in the first quarter of 2023, to ship a further tranche of unfinished trucks for which only a few components were missing. The dynamic price increases implemented in 2022 also began to boost revenue growth earlier than expected as a result of newer orders being brought forward. The disruption to supply chains and the associated shortages of bought-in parts and components were still a factor during the period under review, but the effects were much less pronounced. The service business grew by 10.5 percent thanks mainly to the increase in the volume of revenue generated by the aftersales and rental businesses.

At 49.4 percent, the proportion of the segment’s external revenue attributable to the service business was lower than in the prior-year period (Q1 2022: 52.2 percent).

Earnings

Adjusted EBIT for the ITS segment rose sharply to €176.6 million (Q1 2022: €114.2 million). This was influenced both by the positive effect on earnings resulting from the growth in revenue and by the improved efficiency of production thanks to the countermeasures introduced.

The adjusted EBIT margin rose to 8.8 percent and was therefore well above the equivalent figure for the first three months of the prior year (Q1 2022: 6.6 percent).

After taking into account non-recurring items and purchase price allocation effects, EBIT increased to €173.6 million (Q1 2022: €85.3 million). In the prior-year period, EBIT had included an expense of €28.4 million for non-recurring items that mainly related to impairment losses on assets of the Russian subsidiaries. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €383.5 million in the first three months of 2023 (Q1 2022: €310.1 million), giving an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.1 percent (Q1 2022: 18.0 percent).