Strong start to 2021 financial year

• Incoming orders value and units at €1.32 billion and 46.1 thousand units
• Revenue reaches €959 million in first quarter
• EBIT up to €72.1 million, EBIT ROS increases to 7.5 per cent
• Net credit of €248 million built up
• 2021 forecast raised: Incoming orders €4.2 billion to €4.5 billion,
  revenue €4.0 billion to €4.2 billion and EBIT €300 million to €350 million

Jungheinrich has closed out the first quarter of the 2021 financial year very well. In an environment that continues to be challenging, all financial key figures have increased compared to the previous year, some significantly. The value of incoming orders for the first quarter of 2021 was determined in particular by the good level of incoming orders for new trucks and automated systems. All business fields were drivers of the revenue development. EBIT increased significantly, mostly due to better capacity utilisation at plants. As a result of this positive development and an expected high level of demand for the remainder of the year as well, Jungheinrich has raised its forecast for 2021.

Dr Lars Brzoska, Chairman of the Board of Management, adds, “We have started really strongly in the new financial year. The incoming orders especially are at an all-time high for a single quarter and prove the extremely successful work of the entire team worldwide. We are optimistic about the remainder of the year. The ongoing challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and especially from bottlenecks in supply chains remain firmly in our sights. We continue to be well prepared for these challenges both operationally and strategically. In light of the positive developments of the first quarter, we have raised our forecast for the 2021 financial year. The Strategy 2025+ goals and measures that were published in November 2020 will be fully pursued and key targets for 2025 reviewed during the course of the year.”

The value of incoming orders, which covers new truck business, short-term rental, used equipment and after sales came to €1.32 billion (previous year: €1.02 billion), or 46.1 thousand units (previous year: 32.1 thousand units). Revenue for the first quarter came to €959 million (previous year: €920 million). Earnings before interest and income taxes (EBIT) increased to €72.1 million (previous year: €53.7 million), thus resulting in an EBIT return on sales (EBIT ROS) of 7.5 per cent (previous year: 5.8 per cent). Profit or loss amounted to €50.1 million (previous year: €31.8 million). Correspondingly, earnings per preferred share were €0.50 (previous year: €0.32). As of 31 March 2021, net credit was €248 million (31 December 2020: net credit of €194 million).

“Jungheinrich has performed strongly and increased all results significantly compared to the same period of the previous year. The first quarter shows that we are on the right track,” explains Dr Volker Hues, Member of the Board of Management for Finance.

Development January to March 2021

Market development

The global market volume for material handling equipment grew particularly strongly in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, with all regions recording a considerable increase in demand. There was a disproportionate increase in orders in China. In the first three months of the year, the warehousing equipment product segment was most heavily in demand worldwide. During the reporting period, demand also increased significantly in Europe, where orders for warehousing equipment grew at a strong pace compared with the previous year.

Business development of Jungheinrich

Incoming orders in the new truck business, based on units, which includes orders for both new forklifts and trucks for short-term rental, totalled 46.1 thousand units in the first quarter of 2021, equating to an increase of 44 per cent compared to the previous year (32.1 thousand units). Jungheinrich benefited from the significant acceleration of demand in Europe. At €1,322 million, the value of incoming orders, which covers all business fields – new truck business, short-term rental, used equipment and after sales – exceeded the previous year’s figure of €1,016 million by 30 per cent in the reporting period. A decisive factor in this was the demand for automated systems in addition to the very good incoming order situation for new forklifts overall. Group revenue of €959 million, a 4 per cent increase against the same period of the previous year (€920 million), was driven by all business fields.

EBIT increased considerably by 34 per cent to €72.1 million, mostly due to better capacity utilisation at production plants (previous year: €53.7 million). EBIT return on sales increased to 7.5 per cent (previous year: 5.8 per cent). Earnings before taxes (EBT) for January to March 2021 amounted to €68.2 million (previous year: €43.5 million). EBT return on sales (EBT ROS) came to 7.1 per cent (previous year: 4.7 per cent).

As of 31 March 2021, net credit was €248 million (31 December 2020: net credit of €194 million).

Forecast

Due to the very strong incoming order position in the first quarter of 2021 and anticipated high demand for the rest of the year, the Board of Management raised the forecast for the 2021 year that was published on 26 March 2021 and published this in an ad-hoc announcement on 22 April 2021.

We now expect incoming orders to be worth between €4.2 billion and €4.5 billion (previous forecast: €3.9 billion to €4.1 billion). Due to significant challenges in the supply chain, Group revenue is expected to fall within a range of €4.0 billion and €4.2 billion (previously: €3.9 billion to €4.1 billion). Based on current estimates, EBIT will be between €300 million and €350 million in 2021 (previously: €260 million to €310 million). Accordingly, EBIT return on sales is expected to range between 7.5 per cent and 8.3 per cent (previously: 6.7 per cent to 7.6 per cent). EBT is expected to amount to between €280 million and €330 million (previous forecast: €240 million to €290 million). EBT return on sales should come to between 7.0 per cent and 7.9 per cent (previously: 6.2 per cent to 7.1 per cent). We assume a ROCE value of between 17 per cent and 21 per cent (previously: between 14 per cent and 18 per cent). Moreover, we expect that Jungheinrich will reach a net credit of significantly above €300 million at the end of the 2021 financial year (previously: net credit of significantly above €200 million).

Key figures at a glance

¹ EBIT/revenue x 100

² EBT/revenue x 100

³ FTE = full-time equivalents