HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - After the first six months, forklift manufacturer Jungheinrich believes it is on track to meet its annual targets. The management confirmed its forecast, according to which 2023 should earn between 400 and 450 million euros in the day-to-day business; after 386 million in the previous year. After supply chain problems and high steel prices as a result of the Ukraine war caused problems and cost pressure last year, things are now going better again for the Group. However, Jungheinrich was unable to operate as profitably in the second quarter as it had in the first. The merely confirmed annual targets also apparently caused disappointment on the stock market.

In an initial reaction, analyst Alexander Hauenstein of DZ Bank reminded investors that competitor Kion had raised its annual targets at the end of July. The Jungheinrich share lost around seven per cent in the morning and slid towards the 30 euro mark to the level of the end of June. The ups and downs of recent months thus continue for the MDax share: Apart from the high for the year to date of more than 37 euros reached at the beginning of February, the share price has been hovering between 30 and 35 euros. The gain since the beginning of the year amounts to a good 16 percent.

In the second quarter, operating earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) rose by almost 38 per cent to 115.7 million euros, as the company announced in Hamburg on Thursday. Jungheinrich thus fell short of analysts' expectations. Sales grew by a fifth to just under 1.4 billion euros thanks to the price increases implemented.

On this basis, the operating margin (Ebit margin) improved from 7.4 per cent previously to 8.5 per cent - meaning that profitability is once again heading towards the level of two years ago. In the first quarter, however, the margin was 9.3 per cent, and analysts had expected at least this level for the second quarter as well. The bottom line is that Jungheinrich earned 74.7 million euros in the three months to the end of June, more than a third more than in the same period last year.

According to the experts at investment bank Stifel, the weaker profitability in day-to-day operations could have been due to the acquisition of US-based Storage Solutions. Baader colleague Peter Rothenaicher takes a similar view: Calculated by the costs associated with the acquisition, an operating profit of 126 million euros and a corresponding margin of 9.2 per cent would have been achieved.

At least Jungheinrich could be pleased about a further high demand in the middle of the year: Incoming orders rose by 18 per cent to a good 1.3 billion euros in the second quarter. The order book was excellent in the challenging environment, praised Baader analyst Rothenaicher. According to his calculations, the new US investment contributed around 80 million euros.

The Hamburg-based company had announced the acquisition of the U.S. supplier of warehouse automation in January. The $375 million (342 million euros) acquisition was completed in mid-March. For the year as a whole, Jungheinrich management expects Storage Solutions to generate orders worth 300 million euros and sales of 200 million euros./lew/tav/jha/