Strong Demand for Stage V Engines Helps Boost Deutz in First Quarter
Deutz AG posted €574.9 million in new first quarter orders compared to €403.2 million in last year’s first quarter, a 42.6-percent leap. It was an even bigger hike compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 when new order revenue was €382.7 million. The rise in new orders was partly the result of favorable business conditions as well as changed customer procurement behavior, Deutz said. With strong demand and the introduction of emissions standard EU Stage V in the coming year, customers placed orders early to be sure of securing delivery.
The unit sales figure for the first quarter of 2018 was 48,548 engines, including 2,133 electric motors sold under the Torqueedo brand. The company sold 37,153 in the first quarter of 2017, a 30.4-percent year-over-year hike. The increase compared to the fourth quarter was 11.7 percent when 43,367 engines were sold. Revenue came to €414.5 million, a 17.6-percent increase on the first three months of last year when revenue was €352.5 million. Revenue was €385.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, thus a 7.4-percent quarter-over-quarter jump.
Operating profit increased by about a third, from €14.1 million to €21.7 million year over year.
“The new financial year has got off to a very encouraging start, particularly in terms of market demand and improved profitability,” said Dr. Frank Hiller, chairman of the board. “We are taking this tailwind with us into the second quarter. Although we expect to see the usual seasonal decline in the summer quarter, we anticipate that this will be less pronounced than in previous years.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.