Volvo CE reports 13% sales increase in Q2

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has reported positive financial results for the second quarter of 2021, with net sales up 13% to SEK 25.8 billion (€2.52 billion).

In fact, following adjustments for currency movements, the company said its net sales had increased by as much as 21%.

The Swedish construction equipment manufacturer said it had enjoyed a strong rebound in almost all markets, following the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, with notably higher sales volumes in Europe, North and South America.

The only market not to strengthen over the period was China, which, Volvo said, had seen a slight slowdown following a surge during the first three months of the year.

Notwithstanding the weakening of sales from China, Asia remains Volvo CE’s strongest market. The Asian market accounted for sales of SEK 11.4 billion (€1.1 billion), a slight increase compared with the same period last year.

Order intake also increased significantly (35%) for Volvo-branded construction products, with the company’s SDLG brand seeing a more modest rise, again due to the slowdown in the Chinese market.

The company said it was currently seeing stronger demand for large and medium-sized machines than for compact models.

Melker Jernberg, president of Volvo CE, said: “Thanks to our commitment to innovation and customer success, we have offset a slowdown in China with a solid increase in demand across our other key regions of Europe and North America. While maintaining a steady recovery from the challenges of last year remains our top priority, we have also continued our journey of innovation with a number of exciting launches this quarter, including our entry into the 50 ton excavator segment and the launch of our first dedicated Fuel Cell Test Lab.”