Deutz Sees Rebound in New Orders for First Quarter of 2013

DEUTZ AG has presented its financial results for the first quarter of 2013, reporting a sharp rebound in its volume of new orders. This represents a continuation of the encouraging trend that first emerged in the previous quarter.

DEUTZ received orders worth €388.5 million in the first quarter of 2013, which meant that the value of its new orders exceeded the figure achieved in the previous quarter by 40% (Q4 2012: €276.6 million) and was in line with the €390 million reported for the first quarter of 2012. The level of new orders won by the Agricultural Machinery application segment staged a particularly impressive recovery compared with the first three months of 2012.

DEUTZ sold a total of 36,238 engines in the first quarter of this year, which was 22.0% fewer than in the corresponding period of 2012 (Q1 2012: 46,461 engines). Unit sales in the reporting period fell by a similar 22.2% compared with the 46,553 engines sold in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The revenue generated in the first three months of 2013 declined to €289.9 million, which was a year-on-year decrease of 14.0% (Q1 2012: €336.9 million). This constituted a decrease of 10.1% compared with the previous quarter, when revenue amounted to €322.5 million. However, the decline in revenue was low in relation to the fall in unit sales because higher-value engines that meet the new emissions standards are increasingly being sold in Europe and the US, and because of other effects of the business mix.

DEUTZ incurred an operating loss (EBIT) of €6.4 million in the first three months of this year as a result of the seasonal decline in revenue (Q1 2012: operating profit of €10.0 million). However, its results for the first quarter – traditionally a more challenging period – are not representative of the year as a whole. "Our low level of debt and our cost-effective funding arrangements have further reduced our net interest expense," comments Dr Margarete Haase, the Board of Management member responsible for finance.

Another positive factor was the continuation of the impressive cash-flow trend. This was underlined by DEUTZ's net financial position, which had improved by €55.2 million year on year and amounted to minus €69.3 million as at 31 March 2013.

The company reiterated its outlook for the current year. "We expect to achieve revenue of at least €1.4 billion and an EBIT margin in excess of 3.0%. We are especially encouraged by the strong recovery in the volume of our new orders," stresses Dr Helmut Leube, Chairman of the Board of Management of DEUTZ AG.