Cargotec sales up 6% in 2014

Crane and materials handling equipment manufacturing group Cargotec reported 2014 sales at €3.36 billion (US$3.83 billion), up 6 % on the previous year. Also up – by 37 % - was operating profit, at €126.6 million (US$144 milion). Brands in the Finland-headquartered group include crane manufacturers Hiab, Kalmar and MacGregor.

Commenting on the results, Mika Vehviläinen, Cargotec president and CEO, said, “Our results for 2014 are a clear indication that our profit improvement programmes have progressed well and that we are implementing the issues defined in our strategy, one step at a time. Both fourth-quarter orders and sales grew on the previous quarter. Operating profit improved across the business areas towards the year-end with the fourth quarter clearly outperforming the previous quarters. I am also delighted with the improvement in cash flow.”

Vehviläinen continued, “Even though the overall financial results for 2014 were below our expectations, I am more convinced that we can meet our future targets. Our market position is strengthened by several successful new product launches. In North America in particular, market activity is expected to continue positive both for Hiab and Kalmar. We face challenging markets in MacGregor, but there is still much room for improvement in our own operations. In 2015, we will continue the profit improvement programmes in Kalmar and Hiab and the development programmes launched in MacGregor in order to improve the business area’s profitability over the cycle.”

For 2015 Cargotec forecasts that both sales and operating profit will be higher than 2014.