The newly-minted Kalmar Corporation has released its half-year financial report for January–June 2024. This follows the partial demerger of Cargotec and the successful listing of Kalmar as a standalone company. As a result of this process Kalmar is reporting its sales and earnings comparisons against “carve-out” numbers from Cargotec. Kalmar cautions that carve-out financial statements do not necessarily reflect what actual results would have been if Kalmar had been an operating as an independent company.

Nevertheless, Kalmar’s Q2 2024 result shows that the market for mobile cargo handling equipment (including straddle carriers) has softened considerably from 2023. Orders received in Q2 2024 were down 14% to €375m and Kalmar’s order book stood at €925m at the end of the quarter, a 28% decline on 2023. Sales were down 25% to €417m.

Kalmar President and CEO Sami Niiranen described demand as “mixed with some softness especially in the North American distribution customer segment and some delayed decision making in larger orders.” The Americas represented 27% of Kalmar’s sales in the quarter, with 45% coming from Europe and 28% from AMEA.

While orders and sales were down, Niiranen noted that Kalmar’s services business “remained more stable than the equipment sales, demonstrating resilience.” Services orders were up 2% to €137m, while sales in the services area dropped 2% to €139m.

In the eco portfolio, which is a strategic focus area for Kalmar, total sales were down 7% to €168m. However, the eco portfolio now accounts for 40% of Kalmar’s total sales, compared to 33% in Q2 2023. Kalmar is confident it is heading in the right direction with its focus on the eco portfolio, and notes that “customer’s interest in electrification provides good opportunities for growth.”

Though it is early days since the demerger, Kalmar already seems to be better able to respond to market dynamics than in the past. Niiranen said that Kalmar’s Q2 2024 margin of 12.6% represents “solid profitability primarily driven by good business performance and a cost structure that has already been adjusted to lower sales.” The work is not done yet, however, and Kalmar is planning to achieve €50m in gross efficiency improvements by the end of 2026 as part of its target of reaching a 15% comparable operating margin by 2028.

The newly-minted Kalmar Corporation has released its half-year financial report for January–June 2024. This follows the partial demerger of Cargotec and the successful listing of Kalmar as a standalone company. As a result of this process Kalmar is reporting its sales and earnings comparisons against “carve-out” numbers from Cargotec. Kalmar cautions that carve-out financial statements do not necessarily reflect what actual results would have been if Kalmar had been an operating as an independent company.

Nevertheless, Kalmar’s Q2 2024 result shows that the market for mobile cargo handling equipment (including straddle carriers) has softened considerably from 2023. Orders received in Q2 2024 were down 14% to €375m and Kalmar’s order book stood at €925m at the end of the quarter, a 28% decline on 2023. Sales were down 25% to €417m.

Kalmar President and CEO Sami Niiranen described demand as “mixed with some softness especially in the North American distribution customer segment and some delayed decision making in larger orders.” The Americas represented 27% of Kalmar’s sales in the quarter, with 45% coming from Europe and 28% from AMEA.

While orders and sales were down, Niiranen noted that Kalmar’s services business “remained more stable than the equipment sales, demonstrating resilience.” Services orders were up 2% to €137m, while sales in the services area dropped 2% to €139m.

In the eco portfolio, which is a strategic focus area for Kalmar, total sales were down 7% to €168m. However, the eco portfolio now accounts for 40% of Kalmar’s total sales, compared to 33% in Q2 2023. Kalmar is confident it is heading in the right direction with its focus on the eco portfolio, and notes that “customer’s interest in electrification provides good opportunities for growth.”

Though it is early days since the demerger, Kalmar already seems to be better able to respond to market dynamics than in the past. Niiranen said that Kalmar’s Q2 2024 margin of 12.6% represents “solid profitability primarily driven by good business performance and a cost structure that has already been adjusted to lower sales.” The work is not done yet, however, and Kalmar is planning to achieve €50m in gross efficiency improvements by the end of 2026 as part of its target of reaching a 15% comparable operating margin by 2028.