Cramo grows amid changes

Cramo said its 2017 financial performance was diluted as a result of divestments it made during the year.

The company recorded a year-on-year revenues increase of 2.4% for the full year, to €729.50 million, after parting company with its Danish equipment rental operations, bought by Loxam for €25 million, as well as its Latvian and Kaliningrad operations, bought by Storent.

Fourth-quarter revenues also increased 2% for the Finnish rental company, to €196.7 million.

Cramo’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew a healthy 8.1%, to €120 million in 2017. The company said that its EBITDA growth came as a result of sales growth and a higher gross margin.

Progress in 2018 is expected to continue for Cramo, though it said many countries would level out over the next 12 months.

Leif Gustafsson, president and CEO, Cramo, said, “2017 was the first year executing the Cramo’s new Shape and Share strategy and we took many large steps towards our vision, shared resources simplified.

“In the beginning of the year, we divided our operations into two stand-alone business divisions, equipment rental and modular space. As the synergies between the businesses are limited, we decided to further investigate and assess the potential separation of the modular space business. The assessment of different strategic alternatives will be carried out during 2018.”

Gustafsson added that Cramo set its sights on German growth, with the acquisition of site logistics company KBS Infra Group, expected to close in the first quarter of this year. KBS, headquartered in Mainz, generated revenues of around €35 million in 2017 and operates four locations, employing 180 people.