Haulotte forecasts growth following 18% sales dip

Haulotte achieved sales of €106.0 million in the first quarter of 2021, down 18% from €132.9 million at the end of March 2020, which was the last quarter in which it was not affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company said the market was recovering quickly but is being hindered by difficulties in the supply chain, adding that its latest financial results come, “In a global aerial work platform market that, like many other industrial sectors, is still being penalised by procurement difficulties of certain components and tensions observed on supply chain inherent in the suddenness of the recovery.”

In Europe, Haulotte’s sales were down 24% in the first quarter compared to 2020 but up 10% compared to the previous quarter.

In Asia Pacific, the group recorded a decline in sales of 14% in the quarter compared to the same period in 2020.

In North America, Haulotte posted a lesser sales decline of 2% in the first quarter, with the aerial work platform business continuing to grow by around 6% over the same period.

In Latin America, sales were down by 12%, in a market still strongly impacted by the health crisis, said the company.

Focusing on Haulotte’s business segments, first quarter equipment sales were down 22% compared to the first quarter of 2020, while rental activity was down 12% and service activity was up 9%.

Buoyed by the rebound in the aerial platform market and despite tensions in the supply chain, which the group hopes to see resolved during the third quarter of this year, Haulotte said it expects sales to grow by more than 15% in 2021 and to achieve a current operating margin, excluding foreign exchange gains and losses, of between 3% and 4% of sales.