Crane manufacturer Konecranes the profit situation improved even more in the second quarter.
The profit improvement was expected, as the company issued a positive profit warning for this year in June. Still, the company’s result this time exceeded even the high-tuned forecasts.
Konecranes’ comparable ebita margin increased to 147.3 million euros in April–June from 98.3 million euros a year ago. Adjusted operating profit, on the other hand, increased to 139.7 million euros from 90.3 million euros in the comparison period.
The company’s turnover in the quarter was 1,031.5 million euros, compared to 913 million euros in the comparison period.
Database by Vara Research based on the eight analyst forecasts collected, the company’s comparable ebita margin was expected to increase to 114.6 million euros on average in April–June. The consensus forecast for adjusted operating profit was 107 million euros. The turnover was expected to settle at an average of 965 million euros.
The company’s profitability was record high in all business segments. According to the company, the growth of the comparable ebita margin was mainly due to pricing and sales volume growth, as well as the good implementation of the strategy.
The company’s order intake for the quarter was 967.7 million euros. In the comparison period, new orders were recorded at 1,092.9 million euros, and analysts predict that the order collection will remain at an average of 988.5 million euros in the now reported quarter.
The company’s undiluted earnings per share for the quarter increased to 1.26 euros from 0.71 euros a year ago.
The demand environment promises well
Konecranes repeated the guidance it gave in June in connection with the result. At that time, the company estimated that its turnover this year would be at the same level or an increase from last year. The ebita margin for the whole year was instructed to improve.
In its demand outlook, the company estimates that the demand environment among industrial customers has remained good and will continue at a good level. Global container traffic continues to be at a high level, and the long-term outlook for global container handling remains generally good.
“Although customer decision-making takes a little longer in larger industrial projects, our sales prospects are still good and we are constantly receiving new requests for offers,” describes the CEO Anders Svensson in the results review.
“The port’s container traffic continues at a high level, and the long-term prospects related to container handling are still good. There are projects of all sizes in the port solutions sales pipeline. The variation of received orders between quarters is typical for business, as the timing of orders depends on the timing of the customer’s decision-making.”