Jungheinrich share dragged down by financial and economic crisis

Overall, the Jungheinrich share put in a disappointing performance in the 2008 financial year. The development of our share price was pulled into the downward spiral of domestic and international stock markets right at the beginning of the period under review. Buyers and sellers reacted positively to the first set of earnings figures published in the 2007 financial statements at the beginning of March 2008. But grim economic prospects determined share price developments thereafter. Neither the capital market’s positive reaction to the company’s 2007 financial statements, nor the financials for the first quarter of 2008 managed to halt the downward trend. Encouraging feedback received from the capital market on the reports submitted at the Annual General Meeting on June 10, 2008, was short-lived as well. Primarily driven by high energy and raw material prices, the increasingly apparent effects of the slowing world economy subsequently caused several analysts to revise their assessments of the Jungheinrich Group’s future business outlook. This trend persisted on publication of the interim report on the first half of 2008 on August 14, 2008, occasioned by the company’s more cautious forecast. The adjusted evaluations reflected the considerably clouded economic outlook for the mechanical engineering sector, among other industries. The interim report for the period ended on September 30, 2008, published in November resulted in analysts making yet another correction to their earnings forecasts and lowering their share-price targets once again. Massive investor sell-offs of random small and mid-cap issues triggered a further decrease in quotations. On December 23, 2008, the Jungheinrich share was listed at €8.20 — its low for the year. The Jungheinrich share closed 2008 at €9.05 (prior year: €26.73), losing 66.1 per cent of its value.