HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - After a strong first half-year, business at forklift truck manufacturer Jungheinrich weakened as expected in the third quarter. Although incoming orders in the months of July to September rose by just under five percent to 1.2 billion compared to the same period last year, net sales even improved by 14 percent to just under 1.4 billion euros. In the first six months, however, growth rates had been significantly higher.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) even fell by one percent to 103 million euros in the third quarter due to higher costs, following a strong increase in the first half of the year. The MDax-listed company announced this on Friday in Hamburg. The results were in line with analysts' expectations. The management confirmed its forecast for the year, according to which an operating margin of 7.8 to 8.6 percent is to be achieved in 2023.

As it was already at 8.9% after the first half of the year, analysts had already expected profitability to have declined slightly in the third quarter. After nine months, it now stands at 8.4 percent. Jungheinrich attempted to offset higher personnel and material costs by increasing the selling prices of its forklift trucks. However, analysts speculated that the Hamburg-based company must have given some price reductions in view of the sluggish economy and the resulting weakening demand./lew/zb