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Business

JCB pays bumper £75m dividend to Bamford owners

JCB pays bumper £75m dividend to Bamford owners

Business
JCB has paid a bumper £75m dividend after the diggers and dumper trucks company controlled by the Bamford family achieved record financial results. The pay-out for 2018 by the UK-based manufacturer was shown in filings to Companies House by the group’s main holding entity JCB Service and compares with a £60m dividend in 2017. JCB Service is owned by a Dutch parent company which is ultimately controlled by “Bamford family interests”. Lord Anthony Bamford, whose father founded JCB in Staffordshire in the 1940s, is chairman of the company and a prominent supporter of Britain’s departure from the European Union. He is a backer of the ruling Conservatives, though the filings showed that JCB Service’s political donations to the party dropped by one-third to £1m in 2018. Mr Bam...
Global markets remain strong for JCB

Global markets remain strong for JCB

Business, Manufacturer
JCB set new records for turnover, machine sales and earnings in 2018 as global markets for construction equipment and agricultural machinery remained strong, the company announced today. Staffordshire-based JCB revealed that its sales turnover in 2018 rose by 22% to £4.1 billion (2017: £3.35 billion), while machine sales increased to 96,246 (2017: 75,693). Earnings on an EBITDA basis rose by 31% to £447 million (2017: £341 million). JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “2018 was a very strong year for JCB during which the global construction equipment market grew by 18% to an all-time high of one million machines. JCB outpaced this growth by increasing its sales revenue by 22% last year, which was a very significant achievement. However, this growth has now stalled, with many markets softe...
New KION Plant in Poland

New KION Plant in Poland

Business, Manufacturer
KION GROUP AG is pursuing its growth strategy with the construction of a new industrial truck plant in Kołbaskowo, near Szczecin in Poland. Capital expenditure on this project will amount to over EUR60 million, and KION, a global leader in logistics, will be creating more than 150 jobs at the site by 2023. Construction on the plant will commence this year, with the site set to come on stream in early 2021. The 18-hectare (approximately 44.5 acres) site will incorporate a cutting-edge production facility, a research and development centre, and an administrative centre covering almost 44,000 sq. meters. The additional plant in Poland will complement KION Group’s existing production facilities across Europe and cater to customers with less intensive utilization in the EMEA region. “The...
Red Diamond buy Alto Handling

Red Diamond buy Alto Handling

Business, Dealer
The UK importer of Mitsubishi forklift trucks, Red Diamond Distribution (RDD), has completed the acquisition of Portsmouth-based Alto Handling. RDD’s Mike Jones describes the acquisition as "an important development that will ensure customers on the South coast, including Brighton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth, continue to enjoy continuity of service from a highly regarded and vastly experienced local supplier". "At the same time, the move will allow RDD to maintain the integrity of the Mitsubishi network in the UK by ensuring stability, job security and growth for this award-winning business." Jones says Alto was a highly successful Mitsubishi dealership for more than 24 years and scooped the coveted Mitsubishi Gold Award for outstanding customer support on three separate occas...
Jungheinrich lowers expectations

Jungheinrich lowers expectations

Business
German materials handling giant Jungheinrich is preparing investors for gloomy news ahead of its second quarter results announcement next month. After a good start to the current financial year, Jungheinrich has recently registered a sharp fall in its customers’ investment activities, the company says in a statement. "This is due to the gloomier macroeconomic environment and the related current developments in the market for materials handling equipment." Jungheinrich notes that the global market shrank by 5% to the end of June, while in Europe, Jungheinrich’s core sector, the market has contracted by 7%. "Taking the month of June in isolation, the European market … fell by 16%," it reports. "Under these circumstances, and in the absence of any positive economic and market ...
Dawsongroup Plc acquires first plot at Delta Properties’ Central Park extension in Bristol

Dawsongroup Plc acquires first plot at Delta Properties’ Central Park extension in Bristol

Business
Dawsongroup has acquired the first plot at Delta Properties’ extension of Central Park, Bristol located off the Severn Road, Avonmouth. Following Delta Properties’ outstanding success over the last few years in completing its Central Park development, it is now releasing into the market the next phase of its landholdings in Bristol. This first phase, of just under 50 acres, benefits from the same extant planning consents which benefit Central Park. Dawsongroup has purchased the first plot of just over six acres. Freya Dawson, group property director and main board member, said: “After four years of searching for the right site in Avonmouth, we are thrilled to have completed on this purchase with Delta Properties. Opening our first 'Super Site' is a big step for Dawsongroup and...
A-Plant’s profits fall 11%

A-Plant’s profits fall 11%

Business, Finance
Hire company A-Plant has suffered a dip in profits in the past year on marginal growth in revenues. For the year ended 30th April 2019, A-Plant made an operating profit of £62.3m, down 11% on the previous year’s £70.2m. Revenue was up 0.7% to £475.1m (2018: £471.7m). Its operating margin therefore declined from 14.9% to 13.1%. This was attributed to “the higher depreciation charge of a larger average fleet”. A-Plant generated rental-only revenue of £357m, up 4% on the prior year (2018: £344m).  This was driven by increased fleet on rent with a 1% improvement in yield, mainly due to product mix. A-Plant’s parent company, Ashtead – although British – does most of its business in North America, through the much larger and more profitable Sunbelt equipment rental operations. ...
Nexen’s investment and expansion plans buck recent trends

Nexen’s investment and expansion plans buck recent trends

Business, Manufacturer
Lowestoft-based Nexen Lift Trucks – designer, manufacturer and supplier of forklift trucks and warehouse equipment – has announced an £8.5m investment in its UK-based headquarters and manufacturing facility. Commenting for Nexen Lift Trucks, sales director Pamela Oakes says: “Thanks in part to a thriving e-commerce-based retail market with sales that represented nearly 20% of all retail sales in the UK alone in 2018, demand from logistics specialists and warehousing operators continues to show growth in both the UK and global markets. “It is therefore vital that we continue to invest heavily in our UK facility to help us maintain current demand while increasing production to focus on growth for Nexen products, including the all-new, multi-directional Ergo sideloader.” The 48,0...
Manitou: A very dynamic Q1 2019 in line with expectations

Manitou: A very dynamic Q1 2019 in line with expectations

Business, Industry
French manufacturer Manitou has reported a ‘dynamic’ start to the year, with total revenue increasing by 22% to €562 million, compared to the first quarter of 2018. Southern Europe saw particularly strong growth, with revenues in the region growing by 36% compared to the equivalent quarter of the previous year. Breaking it down by company division, the Material Handling and Access Division enjoyed a 23% rise in sales revenue to €397 million, compared to the first quarter of 2018, while the Compact Equipment Products Division saw sales revenues grow by 18% to €84 million. Activity was said to be particularly strong with rental companies in N America, though the rising value of the dollar is reducing competitiveness for exports from the US. Manitou’s Services and Solutions Divis...
UK lift truck sales up 2.5%

UK lift truck sales up 2.5%

BITA, Business, Industry
The British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) - the UK trade association for manufacturers and suppliers of fork lift truck and associated components and services – has revealed volumes of forklift trucks sold across the UK increased 2.5% during 2018, to just over 35,000 units. The latest highlights from the BITA market analysis, published exclusively in-full to BITA members, shows that the materials handling sector bucked the predictions of a slowing in GDP to enjoy a stong finish to the year. The biggest winner overall was the powered pallet truck market, experiencing significant, double digit percentage growth, emphasising the UK’s surge in courier and express delivery service usage. The other big winners were diesel engine counterbalance trucks - with sales up +7% in 2018, b...
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