VOLVO Construction Equipment has reported a ‘steady’ rise in sales for 2022, securing ‘good profitability while accelerating in the sustainable industry transformation’.
The manufacturer revealed that all global markets enjoyed an increase in machine sales during the final quarter of last year, with North America seeing the highest rise of 54%.
China, which has continued to be impacted by the pandemic and ongoing lockdowns, saw an increase in sales and deliveries in Q4 due to the introduction of emission regulations.
In Q4, 2022 net sales increased by 27% to SEK 27,596 M, with a contribution from both machine sales and the service market. Adjusted for currency movements, Volvo revealed that net sales increased by 13%, of which net sales of machines were up by 15% and service sales remained on a similar level.
For the full year 2022, net sales rose 9% amounting to SEK 100,261 M. Adjusted operating income for the full year totalled SEK 13,244 M, corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of 13.2%.
Volvo added that global net order intake has continued to remain ‘low’ with a decline of 23% from Q4, 2021 – although still slightly more orders than Q3, 2022. This is attributed largely to ‘restrictive order slotting’ caused by large order books and long lead times in North America and Europe, as well as stopped sales in Russia. However, deliveries have increased by 4% thanks to emission regulations coming into effect in China and demand in North America and Asia.
The company has announced a major investment into its facility in Braås, Sweden, with the plant set to be adapted to produce a larger range of articulated haulers with different types of powertrains, including electric.
Melker Jernberg, head of Volvo CE, said, “We continue to take steps in our transformation journey – continuing to deliver reliable, efficient and more sustainable solutions fit for our customers’ needs today, while driving investment across our business towards our fossil-free future.”
