The growth in turnover in the 2021 business year can be attributed to a strong performance in nearly all of Liebherr’s sales regions. In the European Union, traditionally Liebherr’s strongest market, turnover increased. High growth rates were recorded in almost all EU markets, with France in particular showing above-average development. The United Kingdom are the main driver behind the strong growth in the non-EU countries. Positive development was also seen in North America. Growth in Central and South America was particularly strong, driven by a powerful growth impulse especially from Brazil. Only in Africa and the Near and Middle East did Liebherr face declines, while Asia and Oceania posted moderate growth.

With the exception of its gear technology and automation systems as well as maritime cranes, the Liebherr Group achieved significant growth in all product segments in the 2021 business year, almost on a par with the record growth it achieved in 2019. However, with the recovery of the global markets from the second quarter onwards, manufacturing companies have faced difficulties in procuring a wide range of raw materials, components and electronic parts. These shortages have been accompanied by price increases and bottlenecks in the global supply chains and logistics, which have also affected Liebherr’s production activities to varying degrees. Further challenges have arisen in the form of regional lockdowns and pandemic-related restrictions, such as travel bans.

Despite the difficult conditions in the global market, the Liebherr Group has performed extremely well. The Group recorded a turnover of € 8,009 million with construction and mining machines, representing a significant increase of 17.0 % over the previous year. This includes the product segments earthmoving, material handling technology, deep foundation machines, mining, mobile and crawler cranes, tower cranes and concrete technology. The product segments maritime cranes, aerospace and transportation systems, gear technology and automation systems, refrigerators and freezers, components and hotels achieved a total turnover of € 3,630 million, an increase of 3.9 % over the previous year.

The Group’s workforce has grown over the past business year. At the end of 2021, Liebherr employed 49,611 people worldwide, an increase of 1,686 or 3.5 %. The number of employees rose most notably in Europe, followed by Asia and Oceania. However, the Group also saw an increase in their workforce in Central, South and North America, as well as in Africa and the Near and Middle East.