Developed markets hold up for Hitachi

Hitachi Construction Machinery’s revenues for the nine months of the fiscal year ending on December 31 were JPY 580 billion (US$ 4.92 billion), a +3.9% increase on the same period last year. However, the company’s operating income was down -4.1% to JPY 39 billion (US$ 327 million).

Like Komatsu, the company saw sharp increases in sales in Europe and North America last year. Revenues from Hitachi’s Americas region, including weakening Latin American market, were up +36.4% to JPY 77.5 billion (US$ 658 million). Revenues from Europe were up +30.7% to JPY 62.6 billion (US% 531 million).

Hitachi also said its revenues in the combined Russia, CIS, Africa & Middle East region were up +19.8% to JPY 66.2 billion (US$ 565 million), despite problems in Russia caused by inflation, the depreciation of the Ruble and rising interest rates.

However, a -28.7% decline in sales in China, to JPY 56 billion (US$ 475 million), a slight decline in the Japanese domestic market and flat sales elsewhere in Asia wiped out many of these gains.