Komatsu profit up 5.5% in 3Q thanks to strong construction equipment sales in North America

Updated Jan 29, 2015
Announced during the third quarter, Komatsu’s new PC210LCi10 hydraulic excavator is equipped with Intelligent Machine Control technology capable of cutting production times by 63 percent.Announced during the third quarter, Komatsu’s new PC210LCi10 hydraulic excavator is equipped with Intelligent Machine Control technology capable of cutting production times by 63 percent.

Helped by a weakening of the yen against the U.S. dollar as well as increased equipment sales in the Americas and Europe, Komatsu posted gains in both profit and sales during its fiscal third quarter.

For the quarter, which ended December 31, net sales increased 6.4 percent over Q3 2013 to $4.2 billion (494 billion yen). Meanwhile, profit rose 5.5 percent to $327.5 million (38.5 billion yen).

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Despite continued “slack” demand for mining equipment, construction equipment sales in North and South America and Europe offset declines in Japan and China for the quarter.

Sales in North America rose 12.7 percent to $2 billion (227 billion yen), despite lower demand for equipment in the energy sector due to the recent steep decline in oil prices. Competitor Caterpillar, the no. 1 equipment manufacturer to Komatsu’s no. 2, has also seen adverse effects from falling oil prices with the expectation that the impact will continue throughout this year.

Sales in China fell 22.6 percent during the quarter to $738 million (87 billion yen).

The company has made no change to its full-year forecast for fiscal year 2015, projecting net sales of $17 billion (1.925 trillion Yen) and profit of $1.4 billion (157 billion Yen). That would mean a sales decrease of 1.4 percent from fiscal year 2014 and a profit decrease of 1.2 percent.