The German factory and harbour crane manufacturer’s port technology segment saw revenue down 4.1% to EUR64.3m ($83.4m) and operating earnings before interest and tax down 45.6% to EUR1.6m ($2m) year-on-year in the three months to December 31, 2008.

Order intake fell 38.8% to EUR40.5m and the value of its order book was down 23.6% to EUR97.6m. This, it said, was down to cargo volumes on main container routes declining, and port and terminal operators extending investments over a longer period and postponing some major investments.

Its industrial cranes segment saw a drop in demand in its mature markets as the economic crisis took hold, although emerging markets offered growth potential. This contrast saw the segment’s revenue and operating earnings before interest and tax up 8.2% to EUR153.5m and 38.7% to EUR13.2m respectively. Order intake for industrial cranes was also up 2.9% to EUR150.4m, with the order book growing 32% year-on-year to EUR336.2m.

The services segment, including maintenance and refurbishment, was buoyed by the fact that equipment needs to be maintained “as usual in the interests of safety, reliability and availability”. This saw revenue rise by 3.6%, order intake up by 9.4%, and the company’s orders book up 14%.

Overall, the group saw its order intake dip 4.6% to EUR281.3m, with its order book growing 13.5% to EUR488.1m. Revenue was up 4.1% to EUR303m and net income after tax up 3% to EUR18.2m.

As a result of continuing financial and economic turmoil, Demag’s management board has declined to issue a full-year forecast for 2008/09, instead waiting for the end of the second quarter to determine whether it is “appropriate for us to issue a firm year-end forecast,” said CEO Harald Joos.