Sales for the first nine months of its fiscal year, through December 2020, were down 17.2 percent, reported Komatsu, totalling about $14.4 billion. This is down from about $17.3 billion in the same period in 2019.
Operating income for the nine-month period dropped by 48.3 percent from the corresponding period a year ago, to about $1 billion from the nearly $2 billion recorded in 2019. This was mainly due to reduced sales volume, and changes in the compositions of sales in the construction, mining and utility equipment business, as well as the Japanese yen’s appreciation, the company reported.
In the construction, mining, and utility equipment business, although demand showed steady recovery, centering on construction equipment, it remained sluggish for mining equipment in coal mines and was adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sales of construction, mining, and utility equipment decreased 16.7 percent from the corresponding period a year ago, to about $13.1 billion, down from about $15.7 billion in 2019. Segment profit fell by 50.8 percent to about $850 million.
In North America, sales dropped from the corresponding period a year ago to about $3 billion from $4.1 billion in the same period of 2019. Although demand for construction equipment was on a recovery track in the housing sector, it fell in the rental industry and the energy-related sector, which was adversely affected by declining crude prices. Demand for mining equipment also remained sluggish.
Source: Komatsu
