Level of orders

Order intake totalled €5,215.6 million, up by 9.3 per cent on the prior-year level (2014: €4,771.2 million). The KION Group’s growth thus significantly outstripped that of the global market as a whole. The two operating segments LMH and STILL contributed equally to this growth. In addition, positive currency effects raised the value of the order volume by €114.1 million.

Orders for new trucks received by the KION Group brand companies rose by 7.0 per cent to 165.8 thousand units, exceeding the previous record level achieved in 2007. The brand companies benefited here from the growing demand for electric forklift trucks and warehouse trucks. Orders for diesel trucks only just fell short of the previous year’s level and as such performed much better than the market as a whole, which was badly affected by falling sales in China and Brazil.

In the reporting year, high-growth markets accounted for around 33.5 per cent of new truck orders (2014: 34.7 per cent).

Factors contributing to the rise in the value of the order intake included, in addition to higher truck sales, the further slight increase in the proportion of customised equipment and the expansion of the service business. Over the course of 2015, the order book swelled by 13.1 per cent to €864.0 million (2014: €764.1 million).