The Wacker Neuson Group has returned to its growth trajectory. In fiscal 2021, business developments at the Wacker Neuson Group recovered quickly from the 2020 drop in revenue triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Group reported revenue of EUR 1,866.2 million, which is an increase of 15.5 percent relative to the previous year (2020: EUR 1,615.5 million).
In Europe, revenue increased to EUR 1,477.5 million, a rise of 14.6 percent (2020: EUR 1,289.7 million). This clearly exceeded the previous record reached in 2019 (2019: EUR 1,379.0 million). Alongside the Group’s domestic markets of Germany and Austria, which again emerged as growth drivers in the construction industry, business also developed very strongly in the UK. In the majority of countries in Southern, Eastern and Northern Europe, the Group was also able to report high double-digit growth, albeit against a lower baseline in some cases due to the impact of the pandemic.
Once again, business with customers in the agricultural sector developed particularly positively. Despite the stable development of business in 2020 and the resulting strong baseline for comparison from that year – the fall in revenue amounted to only 1.9 percent – the Group managed to grow revenue in this segment by 14.5 percent to EUR 348.4 million (2020: EUR 304.3 million).
“Looking back on 2021, hard work and a concerted effort made this a successful year,” says Dr. Karl Tragl, CEO of the Wacker Neuson Group. “We were hampered by overstretched and repeatedly disrupted supply chains. Raw material and component shortages repeatedly led to rework efforts and this, compounded by rising material prices and spiraling shipping costs, had a negative impact on margins. However, our employees worked tirelessly to get as many machines as possible onto our production lines and delivered to our customers despite all the obstacles.”
Revenue in the Americas – a region that was particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic – recovered in fiscal 2021, partly driven by a gradual upturn in demand from rental firms as the year progressed, rising 21.5 percent overall to reach EUR 328.6 million (2020: EUR 270.4 million). Business developed particularly well in Canada, where the Group was already able to exceed pre-crisis revenue levels.
In Asia-Pacific, revenue increased relative to the previous year by 8.5 percent to EUR 60.1 million (2020: EUR 55.4 million). While the Group continued to face a challenging market environment with surplus capacities and significant price pressure in China, business in Australia developed at a dynamic pace. The Group significantly increased its revenue in this market and also recorded growth in the double-digit percentage range relative to the pre-crisis year of 2019.
