Wacker Neuson withdraws fiscal guidance

Wacker Neuson, the Germany-based manufacturer of light and compact construction and demolition equipment, has decided to withdraw its guidance for the 2020 financial year as a result of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on its business.

The guidance was originally published in mid-March, but a combination of the deteriorating economic situation in some markets and lower revenue and order intake figures in the first half of April has led the group’s executive board to withdraw it.

Preliminary unaudited figures for the first quarter of this year suggest a 6% drop in revenue to €411 million (US$ 446 million) compared to 2019, with year-on-year profit markedly down to around €6 million ($6.5 million) from €21 million ($22.8 million) 12 months earlier due to mainly to negative valuation effects related to internal group loans.

A group statement said: “At present, it is not possible to reliably predict how the pandemic will affect customer demand moving forward, the state of global supply chains as well as the Group’s production output.

“As such, the executive board is unable to provide a sufficiently reliable, concrete new guidance for fiscal 2020 at this time. The executive board therefore currently refrains from the publication of a new guidance for fiscal 2020 and will issue a new guidance as soon as this is feasible.”

Last month Wacker Neuson announced a range of short time working measures and earlier holidays, though its facility at Pinghu, China reopened around the same time.

The group said it will publish its financial report for the first quarter of 2020 on May 7.