Earnings position
The Jungheinrich Group’s earnings developed as follows:
| in million € | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Gross profit on sales | 592.6 | 579.7 |
| Earnings before interest and income taxes (EBIT) | 121.8 | 139.5 |
| Financial income | – 0.3 | – 1.0 |
| Earnings before taxes (EBT) | 121.5 | 138.5 |
| Income taxes | 44.7 | 56.9 |
| Net income | 76.7 | 81.6 |
The Jungheinrich Group closed fiscal 2008 with its second-best earnings after the record achieved in the preceding year. In the first half of 2008, the earnings trend still benefited from higher incoming orders and a rise in the factories’ production output. In contrast, certain factors started having an effect in the second six months — above all higher material prices and lower production caused by the weak economic cycle. Among other things, preparatory work done to tap the Chinese and Russian growth markets had an impact as well. The gross profit on sales rose by a mere €13 million, or 2 per cent, to €593 million (prior year: €580 million).
Moreover, one must take into account the additional expenses incurred in connection with the CeMAT trade fair in 2008. Another negative influence was exerted by the rise in research and development costs compared with last year’s corresponding level. Moreover, the effect of deconsolidating a foreign holding company resulted in a one-off charge of over €2 million.
Balance sheet structure
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) declined by 13 per cent to €122 million (prior year: €140 million). By consequence, the EBIT return on sales declined to 5.7 per cent (prior year: 7.0 per cent). EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), which reflect operating income affecting liquidity, rose by €17 million to €292 million (prior year: €275 million) in the year under review. Earnings before taxes (EBT) fell to €122 million (prior year: €139 million). The financial result was almost flat, compared to the slightly negative figure recorded a year earlier. The Group’s income taxes decreased more than EBIT to €45 million (prior year: €57 million). The tax quota dropped to 36.8 per cent (prior year: 41.1 per cent). Net income thus only declined by 6 per cent to €77 million compared with the preceding year (prior year: €82 million). The Board of Management of Jungheinrich AG proposes to pay the shareholders a marginally reduced dividend of €0.49 per ordinary share and of €0.55 per preferred share, both €0.03 lower than in the preceding year. The proposal thus adheres to the principle of dividend continuity.