Palfinger 2010 turnover up 29% but access lags behind

Palfinger's year end results for 2010 show 29% increase in turnover compared to 2009, but the access market remained weak.

Herbert Ortner, chief executive officer of Palfinger AG said, "We have not yet reached the record results of 2008, but we are very satisfied with the growth we recorded in 2010 and our EBIT margin of more than 5%. We have managed to create excellent structures that put us in a position to continue to grow and quickly increase our profitability."

Palfinger attributes the growth to recovery of the markets in which it operates and the improvements it made to its own processes and cost structures. Palfinger generated €651.8 million in 2010, which is 29% higher than the previous year's figure of €505.4 million.

In 2009 the access platforms unit was still profiting from the backlog of orders placed in better times and the acquisition of Wumag Elevant. However the market continued to be weak in 2010, although a positive trend was noticeable in the forth quarter.

Palfinger anticipates that the restructuring measures currently underway are expected to contribute to a distinct improvement in earnings in the sector over 2011.

Palfinger says that the strong declines in the second half of 2009 were followed by a clear upward trend in 2010 which was felt primarily in the knuckle boom cranes and timber and recycling cranes as well as in the distribution company in Germany . These areas also posted increases as compared to the previous year, which compensated for the decline in access platforms and hook loaders.

In general Palfinger believes that it has become sufficiently flexible in all fields to handle any scenarios that may arise in the future. The measures initiated for increasing the flexibility of the Palfinger Group will be continued in a targeted manner and further improve the position of the Group.

The management is optimistic for 2011 and expects an organic growth in revenue of approximately 20% should the economic environment not change.