Swedish coach and bus manufacturer Scania has had a record-breaking start to 2019, with earnings in the first quarter at an all-time high of SEK 4.21bn and net sales rising to SEK 36.1bn.
Operating income increased by 27%, delivering an operating margin of 11.7%, while net sales rose 16%.
“Higher vehicle and service volume, currency effects and the market mix contributed positively while higher production costs due to the changeover of production in Latin America and supply chain constraints impacted earnings negatively,” said President and CEO Henrik Henriksson.
“Service revenue during the first quarter of 2019 amounted to a record high SEK 7.166bn, an increase of 10%.
Financial Services reported operating income of SEK 345m and maintained its trend of increased profitability.
“Buses and coaches were impacted negatively by lower order intake in the Middle East and overall order bookings for buses and coaches were 28% lower than last year.
In the Engines business area, demand remains at a high level.
“We see ever-increasing interest in Scania’s gas vehicles.
When the city of Bogotá renewed their Bus Rapid Transit system, TransMilenio chose 741 Scania Euro VI gas buses, the cleanest and most silent buses on the Colombian market.
“Scania will also deliver 100 gas trucks to a customer in Germany for transports to the food retail sector.
Regardless of whether they are powered by biogas or natural gas, Scania’s gas engines have essentially the same technical solution.
“From a sustainability perspective, biogas is preferable since this fuel reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90% (20% with natural gas).
“However, the use of biogas is hampered by a shortage of fuel.
For this reason, Scania is working actively in various partnerships to secure the production of biogas and thereby enable a broader penetration for sustainable gas solutions to reduce carbon footprint.”
