German truck maker and engineering group MAN has followed its good start to the year with strong growth in the second quarter.
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The company said operating profit in the second quarter of 2006 was up 60% to EUR273m, on the back of a 7% hike in sales to EUR3.6 bn.
In the first six months operating profits reached EUR488m (+67%), a new first-half record. Sales grew 10% to €6.8bn.
The company said the outlook for 2006 as a whole included a sales increase of approximately 8%, with operating profit significantly higher than 2005.
MAN chairman Håkan Samuelsson said: “We are very satisfied with business performance. We’re benefiting from a good economy – primarily in the transport, engines and energy growth markets, where we have the group concentrated – and internally, we have done a good deal of our cost-cutting homework.
“In 2006, we will come close to reaching the 7.5% return on sales (ROS) target that we set for good economic years. I remain convinced that the market volume will continue to perform at a very high level in 2007, as well.”
The company said that once again, commercial vehicles are likely to play the leading role in the strong performance expected over the next six months.
“Based on its strong volume and anticipated rationalisation effects, the [sector] should clearly exceed an ROS of 7% (after 6.9% in the first six months of 2006 and 6.4% in 2005). Diesel engines will also see a strong increase in its results, given its good order and employment situation, and achieve an ROS on the full year similar to that of the first six months (11.5%). Industrial services and turbomachinery are also expecting the same positive performance as in the first six months,” the company said.
The group’s first-half sales were up by 10% to EUR6.8 bn. All manufacturing areas posted double-digit growth, with the top performers being turbomachinery (39%) and commercial vehicles (16%). The 14% sales decline in industrial services was primarily the result of the restructuring of the steel business.
