The Wacker-Neuson Group significantly improved its EBITDA during the third quarter, and has more than tripled it for the first nine months of 2010, according to results announced this week. EBITDA for the third quarter was €25 million (about U.S. $33.9 million) compared with €15.6 million for last year’s third quarter, a 59.7-percent hike. For the first nine months of 2010, EBITDA was €55.7 million (about U.S. $75.6 million), a 232-percent leap compared with €16.8 million for the same period a year ago.

Revenue soared 31.5 percent for the third quarter, coming in at €196 million (about U.S. $266 million), compared with €149 million for the year-ago quarter. For the first nine months of 2010, revenue jumped 24.6 percent from €442.9 million a year ago to €551.7 (about U.S. $748.6 million) for the first nine months of this year.

Wacker Neuson’s upswing was reflected in clear revenue gains across all regions and business segments. The group, meanwhile, has strengthened its financial position and is virtually debt-free, the company said. Wacker Neuson, meanwhile has again adjusted its forecast for fiscal 2010 upward in light of upbeat market prospects and is optimistic about the coming years.

“We are increasingly winning market share by leveraging sales synergies across our business segments,” said Richard Mayer, speaker of the Wacker Neuson SE executive board. “Global demand for light equipment has been rising significantly for over a year now, particularly in the U.S. Demand for compact equipment is also developing positively, in particular in South America, Canada, South Africa and Switzerland.”

At the end of the third quarter, the order backlog for compact equipment had increased 380 percent compared to the same date a year ago. The company said some delivery bottlenecks among suppliers, which delayed delivery of products during the first six months of the year, had eased, as expected in the third quarter. The company observed changing order patterns, with customers ordering products earlier than in 2009 in anticipation of longer delivery times.

The company said it expects to “leverage market opportunities and sees itself ideally placed to consolidate its competitive position,” in the coming years. Group management currently expects to return to pre-crisis levels in 2013 or 2014.

Wacker Neuson Group is based in Munich, Germany, with U.S. headquarters in Menomonee Falls, Wis.