Sustained strong performance in Konecranes half-year report    

Konecranes reported a strong financial performance in Q2 wit both orders received and sales growing year-on-year.

CEO Anders Svensson said, “We posted a record-breaking Q2 comparable EBITA margin of 10.8%, powered by continued good delivery capability and a positive pricing impact. Our all-time high orderbook of 3.4 billion euros and continued strong performance provide a solid foundation for reaching our new, ambitious financial targets.”

Despite the weakened economic macro-indicators order intake increased 3.5% year-on-year on a comparable currency basis, exceeding 1.0 billion euros once again. Group sales totalled 913 million euros and were 18.7% higher than a year ago on a comparable currency basis. Despite the good sales execution, Konecranes reported encountering some delivery postponement by customers and global supply chain challenges.

Svensson said, “Turning to our business segments, Service’s order intake increased 4.7% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Sales increased 17.1% year-on-year in comparable currencies mainly due to volume growth and pricing. The comparable EBITA margin improved once again and was 19.5%. The agreement base value also continued to grow and in comparable currencies was 4.8% higher at the end of Q2 versus a year ago.

“Industrial Equipment’s external orders declined 2.0% year-on-year in comparable currencies. External sales increased 19.7% in comparable currencies due to the better delivery capability versus a year ago. Accordingly, the comparable EBITA margin increased year-on-year to 5.4%, mainly driven by sales volumes and pricing.

“In Port Solutions, the market environment continued to be good. Order intake grew 5.7% year-on-year in comparable currencies and totalled 420 million euros. Sales increased 19.8% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Comparable EBITA margin declined slightly to 6.6%, mainly due to sales mix. Once again, Port Solutions ended the quarter with a record-high orderbook of nearly 2.0 billion euros.

“For the remainder of 2023 we expect market volatility and uncertainty to continue. While in Q2 our demand remained good, the macroeconomic indicators continued to signal weakening operating conditions. Although we continue to see some signs of slowing down within our industrial customer segments, we expect demand to remain on a healthy level. Container throughput continues to be on a high level, and long-term prospects related to container handling remain good. That said, we have started to see hesitation in decision-making in the short term among some port customers.”