Volvo Construction Equipment 2Q sales fall 19%, operating income down 52 percent

Updated Jul 29, 2013

volvo_logo2006_lgAttributing year-over-year declines to “weaker sales, especially in the mining industry,” Volvo Construction Equipment reported its second quarter results with no change to its outlook for the rest of the year.

The company reported operating income of $203.8 million (SEK 1.324 billion). That’s a 52 percent decrease from the $422.2 (SEK 2.742 billion) million brought in during the second quarter of 2012.

Volvo CE saw net sales decline 19 percent during the past year from $3.035 billion (SEK 19.715 billion) to $2.466 billion (SEK 16.019 billion).

Despite the declines, Volvo CE reports that its order book was nearly at the same level as last year during the same period.

According to the Volvo quarterly results announcement, good news during the second quarter included the good order intake mentioned above, along with improving trends in China, Europe and the Middle East.

The company also saw its operating margin more than double compared to the first quarter of this year. However, at 8.3 percent, it’s a drop from the 13.9 percent achieved during the same quarter last year.

Speaking of China, Volvo recently announced that its Chinese subsidiary SDLG will enter the North American market with two wheel loaders.

By market, Volvo expects Europe to decline by anywhere between 5 and 15 percent by the end of the year, while  North America, South America, China and the rest of Asia are all expected to finish anywhere from a decline of 5 percent to a gain of 5 percent.