PALFINGER has reported a strong first half with a solid increase in revenues and profits

The company saw revenues rise 14 percent to €606.2 million, thanks to strong loader crane sales in Europe, particularly in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Austria, as well as in Africa and Australia. The company also said that its joint venture with Sany in China is also growing strongly. It has also seen what it calls “heavy growth” in southern Europe, albeit from a low level. Pre-tax profits for the six months were up 36 percent to €48.9 million.

In the second quarter sales increased 17.5 percent to €27.8 million, while pre-tax profits soared 49 percent to €27.8 million. The company is forecasting further strong growth in the second half and will come in at least 10 percent up on 2014.

Chief executive Herbert Ortner said: “We owe this satisfactory growth to the consistent implementation of our strategy: We have been increasingly successful on international markets such as North America, Russia and China, and at the same time have expanded our strong position in Europe, not least due to our innovative products and services. Good capacity utilisation and, in particular, the consistent enhancement of flexibility at all sites have allowed EBIT to keep pace with revenue growth, even in an uncertain and volatile economic environment characterised by low visibility”.

“We expect a continuation of this growth in the second half of 2015 and believe that we are on the right track for achieving revenue of €1.8 billion in 2017.”