Machinery giant JCB has reported a growth in earnings by more than 34%, the company has revealed today (12 July).
Announcing its annual results for last year, the Staffordshire-based machinery maker revealed that earnings for 2016 on an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) basis were £287 million (2015: £214 million).
Sales turnover rose by nearly 12% to £2.62 billion (2015: £2.34 billion), while machine sales increased to 66,011 (2015: 59,844).
The performance was achieved despite a contraction in the global construction equipment market of 1% in 2016.
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “JCB’s strong performance in 2016 was against some economic headwinds which saw the global construction equipment market shrink.
“Some markets grew, such as India which rose by almost 40%, while others fell, including Brazil which was down by more than 40%.
“The UK market contracted by 5% in 2016 but the good news is that, after a difficult few years, European markets grew strongly and were up by more than 10% last year.”
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “The UK market has got off to a particularly buoyant start this year, with housebuilding driving demand for compact and mid-range equipment, particularly telescopic handlers.
