Deutz received orders worth €960.5 million (about U.S. $1.22 billion) for the first nine months of 2012, an 18-percent decline compared with the same period last year, which totaled €1.17 billion. The decrease was largely the result of slowdowns in Europe and China, and it affected all application segments, although the service business increased new orders about 3 percent year over year.
Deutz sold 132,221 engines in the first nine months of 2012, with revenue of €969.4, a 14-percent drop from 2011. The decrease in revenue was less than the fall in unit sales because of the greater value of the new-generation engines sold, which will represent an increasing proportion of sales in the future, the company said.
Operating profit for the first nine months decreased to €24.6 million compared to €69.4 in 2011, because of decreased sales and special items such as the company’s financial reorganization. Production start-ups for engines meeting COM III B and Interim Tier 4 in the United States also had a negative impact on earnings.
Third-quarter new orders dropped about 17 percent from the second quarter, from €311 million to €259.5 million.
“In view of the weak market environment at present, we have taken steps to reduce costs and improve earnings, and are once again subjecting even long-established structures, for example our participation in BESG to close scrutiny,” said Dr. Helmut Leube, Deutz AG chairman. “Over the past few months, we have laid the operational and strategic foundations that will enable Deutz AG to remain successful in the future. We have continued our product offensive with the introduction of the TCD 3.6, which will be followed by the TCD 2.9 before the end of the year. We firmly believe we are well positioned to face the future.”
Deutz AG is based in Cologne, Germany, with U.S. headquarters in Norcross, Ga.
