Konecranes plc is satisfied with Q3 results.

According to Pekka Lundmark, Konecranes’ president & CEO, this gives a solid base for continued growth in 2008. Demand continues to be geographically well balanced. Although the Asia-Pacific region had the strongest relative growth in orders, the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa also posted good growth figures.

The 10.7% operating margin in the third quarter boosted the rolling 12-month margin to 9.1%, already close to the published 10% target. Both Service and Standard Lifting business areas now have a structure where costs grow more slowly than sales. Standard Lifting’s 23% sales growth in the first three quarters of the year was achieved with a personnel increase of only 2%.

In Service, Konecranes increased capacity by adding 522 technicians to a new total of 3,082. Thuis is a real competitive advantage, as is the fact that fixed costs in Service are growing more slowly than sales.