In a statement accompanying its 1 April–30 September 2007 interim figures, the company said that, “despite some areas of concern, the Japanese economy remained on a path of recovery on the back of improved production and exports, solid capital investment and favourable corporate performance, although personal consumption appeared to be at a standstill. Overseas, while there were concerns that the sub prime problem might slow down the US economy, steady economic growth was maintained in Europe.”
In recent years, the company had benefited from strong sales in the truck loader segment, due to a wave of replacement demand sparked by a new tier of emissions regulations. This half, with the replacement cycle complete, the company saw truck loader sales down 86.2% to JPY7,725m. The decline in this segment may account for the reduced rate of the company’s overall growth.
The figures show the company increasingly benefiting from export sales: while overall domestic sales were up 12.3% to JPY44,936m, overseas sales grew 29.2% to JPY36,870m. The increasing importance of the company’s overseas business was equally apparent in the construction crane arm of the business, where export sales were up 39% year-on-year to JPY28.430m, compared to domestic growth of 24.1%. The company attributed the growth to ‘deep-seated replacement demand’.
Outside of the finished crane business, aerial work platform sales were up 18.1% to JPY6,820m, and parts sales were up 6.8% to JPY15,885m.
In it’s forecast, the company says that, “domestic sales of construction cranes are expected to continue rising due to the strength of ongoing replacement demand, while overseas sales of construction cranes are also expected to remain strong as we continue to focus on expanding sales in Europe as well as in the Middle East and North America.” Over recent months Tadano has announced plans to respond to increasing demand by creating dedicated construction crane, loader crane and AWP production facilities at Shido, Tadotsu, and Takamatsu, respectively. This programme passed a significant milestone this period, with the start of operations at the JPY2.7bn Tadotsu loader plant. The company predicts full year to 31 March 2007 consolidated sales of JPY168bn, with 46% of their business coming from exports.
