Jungheinrich Raises 2014 Net Sales and EBIT Forecasts

Hamburg — The Jungheinrich Group got off to a good start to the 2014 financial year. In the first quarter, net sales and earnings both rose by 12 per cent compared to the figures recorded in the same period last year. The number of units produced rose by 33 per cent due to the strong demand in the fourth quarter of 2013. Incoming orders in terms of units also displayed positive development, increasing by 5 per cent. Against this backdrop, the Board of Management is lifting its net sales and EBIT forecasts for the year underway.

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Worldwide demand for material handling equipment posted strong growth in the first quarter of 2014, advancing by 10 per cent to 272.3 thousand forklift trucks (prior year: 247.2 thousand forklift trucks). Europe, Jungheinrich's main sales market, recorded a gain of 7 per cent. Demand in Western Europe increased by 10 per cent, whereas Eastern Europe's market volume declined by 7 per cent. The Asian and North American markets continued their positive trends: Demand in Asia was up 17 per cent, with the North American market posting a rise of 14 per cent.

In the first quarter of 2014, the Jungheinrich Group's incoming orders in terms of units accounted for 20.5 thousand trucks—5 per cent up on the figure reported for the same period last year. The value of the Jungheinrich Group's incoming orders, encompassing all business fields, was slightly up, amounting to 600 million euros (prior year: 587 million euros). As of March 31, 2014, orders on hand from new truck business totalled 394 million euros and were thus 13 million euros, or 3 per cent, higher than the 381 million euros achieved in the corresponding period last year. The rise in value compared to the 336 million euros at the end of 2013 amounted to 28 million euros, or 8 per cent. The order reach was thus four months.

In the first quarter of 2014, consolidated net sales were up 61 million euros, or 12 per cent, to 575 million euros (prior year: 514 million euros). All business fields contributed to the increase in net sales, with new truck business accounting for a disproportionately large share. In Germany, the single-most important market, net sales climbed by 6 per cent to 149 million euros (prior year: 141 million euros). Net sales outside Europe advanced by 38 per cent to 58 million euros (prior year: 42 million euros), buoyed by a very significant gain in net sales in Asia. The non-European share of consolidated net sales thus rose from 8 per cent to 10 per cent. The foreign ratio improved by a total of 73 per cent to 74 per cent.

In the first quarter of 2014, the Jungheinrich Group lifted EBIT by 12 per cent to 40.2 million euros (prior year: 36.0 million euros). As a year earlier, the return on sales was 7.0 per cent. Net income posted a considerable gain, jumping by 17 per cent to 25.7 million euros (prior year: 21.9 million euros). Accordingly, earnings per preferred share amounted to 0.79 euros in the first quarter of 2014 (prior year: 0.67 euros).

By March 31, 2014, The Jungheinrich Group's balance sheet total had increased by 32 million euros to 2,783 million euros since the end of fiscal 2013 (December 31, 2013: 2,751 million euros). The equity ratio rose to 30.5 per cent (December 31, 2013: 30.2 per cent). In the first quarter of 2014, Jungheinrich stepped up its sales presence even further—especially in Europe. The Group's workforce expanded by 217 to 12,057 staff members (December 31, 2013: 11,840 employees).

Jungheinrich expects the world economy to continue recovering over the remaining course of 2014. Against this backdrop, the company anticipates that the global market volume of material handling equipment will grow in the year underway. From a current perspective, Europe's market should also display positive development, with Western Europe as the growth driver. Both the Asian and North American markets are likely to continue to grow. Says Hans-Georg Frey, Chairman of the Board of Management of Jungheinrich AG: "In light of the current economic and market estimates, the development of business in the first quarter of 2014 and the continued rise in orders on hand, we are raising our consolidated net sales and EBIT forecasts for the year underway. Consolidated nets sales should thus be within a range of from 2.4 to 2.5 billion euros. Based on current estimates, EBIT should total between 175 million euros and 185 million euros. We still expect incoming orders to be in the order of between 2.4 and 2.5 billion euros."

Jungheinrich ranks among the world’s leading companies in the material handling equipment, warehousing and material flow engineering sectors. The company is an intralogistics service and solution provider with manufacturing operations, which offers its customers a comprehensive range of forklift trucks, logistics systems, services and advice. Jungheinrich shares are traded on all German stock exchanges.

The Jungheinrich Group at a Glance