In half-year results strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Haulotte posted €222.7 million in total revenue, compared to €342.6 million for the first half of 2019, a 35-percent decline. Equipment sales dropped 36 percent, from €305.8 million to €195.6 million. Rental sales declined 38.2 percent, from €11 million to €6.8 million. Service revenue dropped 21.3 percent from €25.8 million to €20.3 million.
The COVID-19 health crisis impacted the vast majority of Haulotte’s activities on a worldwide basis, beginning in China in January, forcing the company to close its commercial and industrial activities there for a while. The impact became dramatic in Europe in March and in North and Latin America in April.
Sales in Europe dropped 39 percent year over year, with almost all markets posting sharp second quarter declines. In Asia-Pacific, half year sales slid 23 percent, despite a strong rebound of sales in China during the second quarter. China was the only significant market in the world to grow during the second quarter. The North American market plunged 28 percent during the period, with the mobile elevating work platform market holding its own. The Latin Amerian market, with difficult economic and political problems, was aggravated by the pandemic, resulting in a 47-percent slide during the half year period.
In this unprecedented context, Haulotte submitted to all of its lenders of the syndicated loan a request for a waiver of the bank covenants for two periods (June and December 2020) and a request for an extension for an additional year of the maturity. These requests were unanimously accepted without any condition on June 30, 2020. Therefore, the maturity date of the loan contract has been changed to July 17, 2025.
Given the very uncertain environment, where the lack of visibility remains a reality, Haulotte forecasts a decline in sales of 25 percent to 30 percent in 2020, but expects an operating income (excluding exchange gain and loss) to remain positive at year-end.
