JCB defied challenging market conditions by growing earnings by more than 34 percent in 2016 the company revealed this month.
Announcing its annual results for the previous year, the Staffordshire-based machinery maker revealed that earnings for 2016 on an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) basis were £287 million (US$374 million). Sales turnover rose by nearly 12 percent to £2.62 billion (US$3.41 billion), while machine sales increased to 66,011 (up from 59,844 in 2015).
This robust performance was achieved despite a contraction in the global construction equipment market of one percent in 2016.
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “JCB’s strong performance in 2016 was against some economic headwinds which saw the global construction equipment market shrink. Some markets grew, such as India which rose by almost 40 percent, while others fell, including Brazil which was down by more than 40 percent. The UK market contracted by five percent in 2016 but the good news is that, after a difficult few years, European markets grew strongly and were up by more than 10 percent last year.”
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “While we face challenges in some parts of the world, the global construction market so far in 2017 is buoyant and is expected to grow further during the remainder of this year. We continue to launch innovative new products and enter new sectors which will enable JCB to secure strong levels of growth in the future.