KION increases revenue and earnings in the first quarter

"The Kion Group has made a solid start to 2024 and significantly increased its profitability at Group level and in both segments in the first quarter," says Rob Smith, CEO of Kion Group AG. "We have achieved the second-best quarter for adjusted EBIT at Group level since the Kio Group was founded - a strong basis for our forecast for the year."

Group sales in Q1 2024: increase of 2.8 percent

At EUR 2.859 billion, Group sales in the first quarter of 2024 were up 2.8% on the previous year (EUR 2.781 billion).

In the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, sales increased by 7.4% to EUR 2.153 billion (previous year: EUR 2.005 billion). This increase is mainly due to a favorable product mix, the geographical distribution of sales, the increased production volume and higher sales prices. The service business also recorded growth.

Sales in the Supply Chain Solutions segment fell by 8.1% to EUR 718.9 million (previous year: EUR 782.5 million) due to the decline in incoming orders in the project business in the previous quarters. Although the Supply Chain Solutions segment benefited from the increase in customer demand from pure e-commerce providers and general goods and food retailers, project awards in the first three months were still subdued overall. Macroeconomic uncertainties were the reason for customers' reluctance to sign new contracts. In addition, the order book contains a higher proportion of long-term projects whose sales realization will extend over a longer period of time.

In contrast, the service business achieved a significant increase in sales in the reporting period. Adjusted EBIT at Group level increased significantly to 226.7 million euros (previous year: 156.0 million euros). The adjusted EBIT margin improved accordingly to 7.9% (previous year: 5.6%). The Industrial Trucks & Services segment confirmed the positive development of the previous quarters and achieved a double-digit adjusted EBIT margin of 11.1% (previous year: 8.8%) with an adjusted EBIT of EUR 239.7 million (previous year: EUR 176.6 million). The main reasons for this were the continued stable material purchase prices, improved productivity due to good material availability and sales growth.

In the Supply Chain Solutions segment, the adjusted EBIT margin increased to 2.6% (previous year: 0.9%) with an adjusted EBIT of 18.4 million euros (previous year: 7.1 million euros). Growth in the service business, improved project management and the efficiency measures implemented contributed significantly to the improvement in earnings and margins.

At 111.0 million euros, consolidated net income in the first quarter of 2024 was significantly higher than the previous year's figure of 73.5 million euros. Free cash flow reached 65.7 million euros (previous year: 104.9 million euros).