Volvo CE sales up 24% in third quarter
Continued momentum in Europe and the Americas, and good-but-slowing growth in China help drive sales
HELPING parent company The Volvo Group to their best ever third-quarter (Q3) results, Volvo Construction Equipment posted a strong set of figures during the period, with good demand in most markets helping to drive sales growth of almost a quarter, coupled with strong profitability.
Net sales in the third quarter of 2018 increased by 24% to SEK18,598 million (Q3 2017: SEK15,042 million), whilst operating income was also up, rising to SEK2,587 million from SEK2,023 million in 2017.
This delivered a stronger operating margin of 13.9% (13.4%) for the quarter, whilst profitability was positively impacted by higher equipment and service sales, improved capacity utilization in the industrial system and good cost control.
Net order intake in the third quarter increased by 22%, compared with Q3 2017, largely driven by higher intake from China and particularly Europe, which saw order intake jump by 53%.
North American orders also grew strongly, rising 47%, propelled by medium and large machine sales, while South America saw order intake rise by a fifth.
Deliveries increased by 17% to 16,861 machines in the third quarter.
In terms of market development, up to the end of August Europe was up 11%, driven by growth in Russia and stable demand in Germany, the UK, France and Italy, whilst North America saw an increase of 19% due to demand for excavators, haulers, large wheel loaders and road equipment.
South America was up a quarter from the low levels of last year, buoyed by a stronger market in Brazil, while in Asia (excluding China) the total market was 13% above last year. The Chinese market was 42% above last year, albeit with a slowing trend as the year progresses.
‘It is encouraging that we have been able to sustain the strong development of recent quarters, with both sales and profitability being above the levels of last year,’ commented Melker Jernberg (pictured), president of Volvo CE. ‘Good demand in most markets for our range of competitive products helped to deliver yet another strong set of figures.’
