Haulotte Group has delivered a 17% sales increase for the first half of 2016, amounting to €239.8 million, up from €207 million in the same period last year.
The strong sales performance came from Europe, up 30%, driven by the recovery in capital expenditure of rental companies, and North America, which was up 9%, said the manufacturer. This offset a mixed picture in Asia Pacific and Latin America, which saw 1% and 6% declines, respectively.
Within the 16% sales increase, the equipment sales segment increased 18%, the rental segment grew 2% and the services division rose by 8%.
Operating income, however, was down by 19% at €14.5 million, compared to €17.9 million in the previous half year. Consolidated net income dropped 42% from €17.2 million to €9.9 million. The decrease was mainly due to less favourable foreign exchange rates during the period, said Haulotte.
Haulotte Group believes revenue will rise by 5% by the end of the year with a high level of activity expected in the last quarter of 2016 as was the case in 2015, and an improvement in its current operating margin rate.
