JCB records third-most profitable year despite 14.2% earnings fall
12 may 2014
Building equipment firm JCB achieved its third most profitable
year in 2013, despite a fall in earnings and difficult conditions in the
global construction market.
The Staffordshire-based company's earnings before tax fell 14.2% to £313m on sales of £2.68bn, which were down 0.7% on the previous year. The world's third-largest supplier of earth-moving equipment sold 66,227 machines last year, compared with 69,250 in 2012.
JCB's chairman, Lord Bamford, said it had been hit by the slowdown in the construction industry particularly in India, one of its biggest markets.
The firm, noted for its diggers, said growth in the UK, Middle East and Africa helped to offset reductions in India, the rest of Europe and east Asia.
The firm, which is privately held, added that the start of the new financial year had been patchy.
Bamford, a Conservative peer and a big donor to the party, said 2014 had got off to a "mixed" start. "Some markets are showing improvement, with stronger demand in the more developed markets of the UK and North America, which is offsetting weaker demand in the more fragile economies of Asia, Latin America and Russia.
"Political uncertainty created by elections in India and Brazil is also having an impact on markets. The global market for construction equipment was more challenging throughout 2013 but I am delighted that, despite difficult market conditions, JCB delivered a strong performance and achieved the third-highest profit in its history."
JCB said it would push ahead with its plans for expansion. A new factory opens in Jaipur in India this month. Later this year, the firm will spend £150m building a plant in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, creating 2,500 new jobs by 2018.
It also aims for to build another factory in Cheadle, Cheshire. The plan is the biggest single investment in the firm's history, and it has said each new JCB job will create three more UK jobs in its supply chain.
The 350,000 sq ft factory in Beamhurst, near Uttoxeter, will make cabs and will enable JCB to transfer production of cabs in Europe to the UK. It is also adding 126,000 sq ft of factory space to increase production of hydraulic cylinders at Rocester, Staffordshire, while the Cheadle factory will build more earth movers and compact vehicles.
The company will move its finance and insurance divisions to new offices and plans to launch a new training operation for graduates and apprentices.
JCB started in 1945 as a one-man operation in an Uttoxeter garage and now has 22 factories around the world. The Bamford family wealth is estimated at just over £3bn.
AJAY SINGH THAKUR
PGDM 2nd SEM
The Staffordshire-based company's earnings before tax fell 14.2% to £313m on sales of £2.68bn, which were down 0.7% on the previous year. The world's third-largest supplier of earth-moving equipment sold 66,227 machines last year, compared with 69,250 in 2012.
JCB's chairman, Lord Bamford, said it had been hit by the slowdown in the construction industry particularly in India, one of its biggest markets.
The firm, noted for its diggers, said growth in the UK, Middle East and Africa helped to offset reductions in India, the rest of Europe and east Asia.
The firm, which is privately held, added that the start of the new financial year had been patchy.
Bamford, a Conservative peer and a big donor to the party, said 2014 had got off to a "mixed" start. "Some markets are showing improvement, with stronger demand in the more developed markets of the UK and North America, which is offsetting weaker demand in the more fragile economies of Asia, Latin America and Russia.
"Political uncertainty created by elections in India and Brazil is also having an impact on markets. The global market for construction equipment was more challenging throughout 2013 but I am delighted that, despite difficult market conditions, JCB delivered a strong performance and achieved the third-highest profit in its history."
JCB said it would push ahead with its plans for expansion. A new factory opens in Jaipur in India this month. Later this year, the firm will spend £150m building a plant in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, creating 2,500 new jobs by 2018.
It also aims for to build another factory in Cheadle, Cheshire. The plan is the biggest single investment in the firm's history, and it has said each new JCB job will create three more UK jobs in its supply chain.
The 350,000 sq ft factory in Beamhurst, near Uttoxeter, will make cabs and will enable JCB to transfer production of cabs in Europe to the UK. It is also adding 126,000 sq ft of factory space to increase production of hydraulic cylinders at Rocester, Staffordshire, while the Cheadle factory will build more earth movers and compact vehicles.
The company will move its finance and insurance divisions to new offices and plans to launch a new training operation for graduates and apprentices.
JCB started in 1945 as a one-man operation in an Uttoxeter garage and now has 22 factories around the world. The Bamford family wealth is estimated at just over £3bn.
AJAY SINGH THAKUR
PGDM 2nd SEM
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