Chinese market hits Kobelco figures

Kobelco’s sales of construction equipment totalled JPY 240 billion (US$ 2.61 billion) in the first nine months of the year, a -13% fall on the same period last year. Crane sales totalled JPY 32.7 billion (US$ 355 million), and its sales of compact and large-sized excavators came to JPY 208 billion (US$ 2.25 billion).

The company said domestic demand for excavators was strong due to earthquake reconstruction work in Japan, while other markets in South East Asia also saw an increase. However, these gains were more than wiped-out by a fall in the Chinese market.

The company said there was also increased demand for cranes in Japan and South East Asia over the April – December period, and added that the North American market also improved. However, it said that revenues declined because lower priced cranes were sold, compared to a year ago.

The company is forecasting total equipment sales of JPY 311 billion (US$ 3.38 billion) for the full fiscal year to March 31. This would represent a -17% decline on the previous year. Profits are expected to come in at JPY 2 billion (US$22 billion), with the excavator business in profit, but the cranes division making a loss of JPY 3 billion (US$ 33 million). Last year the company made a profit of JPY 22.9 billion (US$ 249 million) on its crane and excavator sales.