KION Group has started strongly in 2023, despite a continued challenging market environment. The positive development of the group’s business was mainly due to the Industrial Trucks & Services (ITS) segment performing much stronger than expected in the first quarter of 2023.

The ITS segment, which focuses on forklifts, warehouse technology and associated services, grew revenue by 16.7% year-on-year to EUR2 billion (USD2.21 billion). ITS made good progress executing the sizeable order book that was built last year, with positive effects on revenue growth.

The impact of dynamic price increases implemented in 2022 was evident in the first quarter of 2023 and also boosted revenue growth earlier than expected.

KION attributes much of the progress to the improving supply chain situation and operational and commercial agility, which allowed the business to bring orders forward.

“We are off to a strong start,” says CEO Rob Smith. “Our growth in the ITS segment underlines the effectiveness of our measures. The group is on track to achieve sustainable profitability improvements and further strengthen its resilience.”

Besides improvement in the ITS segment, KION also reports revenues rising by 10.5% in the service business, mainly due to higher revenue volumes in the after-sales and rental business.

Looking ahead, KION notes that the improving supply chain situation, which has seen production and delivery ramping up and allowed the sizeable order book built up in 2022 to be worked through at a faster pace, will result in newer orders being brought forward, which is likely to continue to have a positive impact on revenue and adjusted EBIT in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment over the remainder of the year.

The Supply Chain Solutions segment is expected to see a noticeable increase in revenue and an improvement in adjusted EBIT, especially in the second half of 2023, thanks to a growing proportion of higher-margin customer projects in the order book, KION predicts.