The listed Salzburg crane manufacturer Palfinger, which also operates a large plant in Lengau in the Braunau district, is struggling with a lull in orders in its core European markets of Germany, France and Scandinavia. In the first half of 2024, sales fell by 3.3 percent to 1.175 billion euros compared to the first half of the previous year – but the bottom line was a group profit of 68.3 million euros, an increase of 7.9 percent. Due to the weak order situation in Europe, production capacity is being reduced.
The operating result (EBIT) remained stable in the first half of the year at 112.2 million euros (plus 0.8 percent). The EBITDA (operating result before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization) was also stable at 156.4 million euros (minus 0.9 percent).
Growth market North America
Demand for service cranes and truck-mounted forklifts is good in the North American market, reported Palfinger on Friday. The ongoing good economic situation and infrastructure investments are ensuring a positive market environment and profitability has increased significantly there. According to the statement, there are also good growth rates in India, which is seen as a future market. In China, however, there is still no recovery in sight.
Southern Europe, including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, continues to develop positively, thanks to strong tourism and infrastructure projects. “The Palfinger AG has started early to prepare for significantly more volatile conditions in the long term,” said PalfingerCEO Andreas Klauser according to the statement. “The product mix and the global positioning play a key role, which proved to be a key resilience factor in the first half of 2024. The markets for aerial work platforms and for offshore and marine cranes were stable.”
For the full year, a slight decline in sales is expected compared to 2023 (sales: 2.446 billion euros). The EBIT forecast is up to 20 percent below the value of the record year 2023 (EBIT: 210.2 million euros). Palfinger has set itself the target of achieving sales of EUR 3.0 billion with an EBIT margin of ten percent by 2027.
