Linde is one of KION Group's forklift brands

Forklift giant KION Group has clarified the English version of a German news report about its credit terms with its banks.

KION's communications head, Michael Hauger, tells Forkliftaction.com News that the English summary of a report by German paper Handelsblatt published last week is "misleading in some details". According to the report, the group is renegotiating its credit terms with its banks to prevent the risk of violating them.

"KION Group is having a very close look at fulfilling its covenants, which in the current economic environment is more demanding than in the past boom of our industry," Hauger says.

Hauger adds that there is "no need" to renegotiate credit terms with its banks. He explains that KION is continuously updating its financing partners on its business developments as part of its ongoing creditor relations.

"This is a very normal process, which all companies follow with their creditors and has nothing to do with our shareholders KKR and Goldman Sachs," he says. Linde AG sold its forklift division to financial investors Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for EUR4 billion (USD5.082 billion) in 2006 (Forkliftaction.com News #285). Before the sale, Linde grouped its forklift brands into a new holding company, KION Group (Forkliftaction.com News #276).

Despite the global market downturn, KION claims strong after-sales business allowed its forklift brands to keep their order intake at a better level than the market.

KION has no problems in serving its interest payments, Hauger says. The group will invest about EUR100 million (USD140.9 million) in group-wide R&D efforts, which Hauger says is "second to none" in the industry in number terms and in relation to its sales.