Jungheinrich has a positive outlook

The Jungheinrich Group expanded significantly in the second quarter of 2015, with net sales up 13% on the same time last year. The value of incoming orders increased by 9% (up 10% for the first half) and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and net income were both 21% higher in the second quarter than in last year's corresponding period.

In the first half of 2015, global demand for materials handling equipment advanced by 3% to 574,100 forklifts (up from 556,800 in 2014), according to Jungheinrich. Europe, Jungheinrich's main sales market, recorded 9% growth (Western Europe climbed by 13%; Eastern Europe dropped 14%); Asia's market contracted by 3%; and demand in North America increased by 11%.

The German manufacturer is reporting second-quarter sales of EUR680 million (USD751.87 million), up EUR78 million (USD86.26 million) from last year.

It notes that all of the business areas contributed to this growth. In Germany, the single-most important market, net sales increased by 7% in the first six months of 2015, while foreign net sales climbed by 12%. The increase in non-European net sales was particularly pronounced, amounting to 19%, buoyed by strong growth in China.

Jungheinrich attributes the substantial growth to a rise in new truck business in the second quarter. Cumulatively, the Jungheinrich Group drove up net sales in the first six months by 11%.

The short-term hire and used equipment business posted a rise of 11%, while revenue from after-sales service recorded an 8% gain.

Looking to the rest of the year, Jungheinrich expects the world economy to "display positive development".

"Against this backdrop, the company anticipates that the world material handling equipment market will continue to grow. As before, Europe's market is also likely to post positive development. Demand in Western Europe may well continue to rise, albeit with less momentum than thus far. This also holds true for Eastern Europe, with the exception of Russia. In Asia - excluding China - the company also expects to see continued market growth, while in China, only the warehousing equipment and battery-powered counterbalance truck segments will probably expand. The North American market should also grow further. The market trend witnessed in the first half of 2015 supports these expectations," according to the company's analysts.