Earthmoving

The Earthmoving division achieved record revenues of € 2,772 million in 2018. This represents a € 299 million or 12.1 % increase compared with the year before.

Development compared to previous year*
Turnover in € m
from 2,473 		( + 12.1% ) 0
Investments in € m
from 277 		( + 9.0% ) 0
Employees
from 8,892 		( + 6.4% ) 0

Turnover by sales regions

  1. European Union
    61.3%
  2. North America
    12.7%
  3. Central and South America
    2.4%
  4. Non-EU countries
    12.8%
  5. Asia and Oceania
    6.5%
  6. Africa, Near and Middle East
    4.3%

Germany remains the largest market

The upward trend in the earthmoving sector continued in the year 2018. After very strong growth in the year before, the global market once again expanded by about 25 %. Western Europe has proven to be the sector’s most stable region. There was also strong growth in the USA and China compared with the previous year.

The Earthmoving division followed this market trend. It successfully increased sales in Europe, North America and Asia and Oceania, compared with the year before. Germany remains the division’s largest market, with sales having increased again. There was significant growth in the highly competitive US market as well. Meanwhile, business declined in Central and South America as well as in Africa and the Near and Middle East.

The division reported very favourable growth in most of its product areas. Some of the most outstanding performers included mobile and crawler excavators, telescopic handlers and well as material-handling machines. However, there was a downturn in sales of crawler cranes and deep foundation machines.

Due to the excellent economic situation in the construction industry, the division received a record number of orders in 2018.

A string of world premieres at Intermat

The past business year has seen a particularly large number of new products, including many which were launched at the Intermat construction machinery fair in Paris (France). The division’s R 936 Compact crawler excavator is a new machine that is particularly well-suited for working in narrow urban spaces. It is even more powerful than its predecessor. Thanks to their agility, the latest L 507 and L 509 Stereoloaders®, unveiled by Liebherr in Paris, also prove their worth in confined spaces. Liebherr also introduced its new series of telescopic handlers which feature a wide range of models suitable for a variety of applications. Another new release is the HSG 5-18 C/L slurry wall grab, which features a modular design. With its new Dredging Assistant, Liebherr has also brought a control system to market that will increase the productivity of excavation works. The division’s research in 2018 continued to focus on automation and developing the digital construction site.

In October 2018, a new development and exhibition centre opened in Kirchdorf an der Iller (Germany), the city where Liebherr was founded. Liebherr is also investing in a new logistics centre for the production site there. Furthermore, Liebherr opened a new facility for earthmoving, material handling and construction machines in Rognac, in the south-west of France. Despite the uncertainty caused by the political situation in several of its key markets, the division is optimistic about the future.

* Restatement first time adoption of IFRS 9 / 15 / 16