Palfinger Results Reflect Downward Trend

Acquisition activities, including the acquisitions of ELEVANT access platform unit of WUMAG GmbH and Omaha Standard, added $120.2 million to revenues, further strengthening the Palfinger Group.

The company also noted that current reduction of the order backlog and the noticeable decline in market demand in the course of 2008 were first absorbed thanks to the flexible structures in place at PALFINGER. After already having laid off temporary workers, the further deterioration of the economic climate prompted management to cut jobs in the fourth quarter. A redundancy compensation scheme was implemented for the 96 employees of Austrian sites who were affected by these job cuts. Until further notice, short-time work was introduced for the majority of employees in Austria, taking effect from January 2009 onwards. These measures were taken on the assumption that a recovery would take place in the medium term in which case operational output may quickly be increased by around 20 percent.

Palfinger’s statement said that the expected business performance in 2009 has to be seen against the background of the further development of the overall economy. The company expects that the demand for cranes will presumably continue to be weak, which will have a clear impact on results.

“We cannot withdraw from our economic environment, but our strength is shown in the numerous opportunities that we see and are also able to make use of,” said Herbert Ortner, CEO of Palfinger AG. “Apart from adjusting structures and processes to future market trends, we are clearly committed to the objective of gaining further market shares and actively participating in the consolidation process of our industry.”