2011 a Record Year for Wacker Neuson

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Construction equipment manufacturer Wacker Neuson recorded all-time highs in revenue and earnings – a trend that confirms the company’s growth strategy. Wacker Neuson has set its sights on further expansion in 2012. Figures show that 2011 was the best fiscal year in Wacker's company history. Based on preliminary figures, Group revenue rose to EUR 991.6 million during fiscal 2011, up 31 percent on the previous year. This is an all-time high in the company’s history.

The distribution of revenue is well balanced, with the light and compact equipment segments similar in size and the services segment continuing to grow. All segments reported double-digit growth. Beyond the construction industry, Wacker Neuson equipment is also used in agriculture, gardening, landscaping, industry and the municipal sector.

"In the last two years alone, our company has seen revenue rise by around 66 percent. In 2011, growth was particularly strong in the US, Scandinavia and Central Europe. Our compact segment for the construction and for the agricultural industry revealed a particularly strong increase on the previous year," explains Cem Peksaglam, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, predominantly favorable weather conditions in Europe and the US also had a positive effect on Group figures. At EUR 264 million, Q4 revenue was up 28 percent on the previous year’s quarter (Q4 2010: EUR 206.2 million), which was itself a strong period for the Group.

Earnings more than doubled
Wacker Neuson also showed much stronger profitability figures for 2011 as a whole. At around EUR 162.6 million, the preliminary figure for profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is more than double the previous year’s figure (2010: EUR 77.8 million). This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 16.4 percent (2010: 10.3 percent), well above the Group’s expectations of 15 percent. Wacker Neuson has thus achieved its highest earnings since the 2007 merger.

"Particularly in more developed markets, customer expectations for quality, comfort, maintenance, safety, environmental sustainability and versatility of our machines continue to rise – in both the construction and agricultural industry. This is exactly where our strengths lie and our products lead the market in all of these areas. We are also a high performance organization thanks to our efficient processes, fast decision-making and lean administration. I am therefore content with our increase in profitability," continued Peksaglam. The financials and assets remain very healthy with a high equity ratio (before minority interests) of around 75 percent and a low net financial debt of around 10 percent.

Great start to 2012
The new year has got off to a great start, particularly in Wacker Neuson’s core markets. The company will continue to utilize market opportunities in Europe, North and South America and is assessing the viability of launching compact equipment products in Asia. As planned, Wacker Neuson has also started to expand the medium-price range of its light equipment offering in Asia. The company will also be present at bauma in Shanghai during November of this year.

"2012 is going to be a year that will see us build on our international growth strategy. We will therefore focus our investments this year on expanding our international sales and distribution network. By the middle of the year, we will have started production at our new compact equipment production facility in the Austrian town of Hörsching, near Linz – one of the largest, most modern factories of its kind. This will enable us to triple today's production capacity for excavators, dumpers, and skid steer loaders," states Peksaglam. "Despite the debt crisis in Europe, we have our sights firmly set on further growth in 2012," he concludes.

The complete Annual Report (including the forecast for fiscal 2012) will be published on March 22, 2012 in Munich during a press conference detailing the Group’s financial results.