Sales up 21% at Kobelco Cranes

Kobelco Cranes, part of Kobe Steel, reported sales up 21 % for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2013, largely due to post-earthquake reconstruction in Japan.

According to a statement released by Kobe Steel, unit sales of crawler cranes increased throughout Japan in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year. Unit crane sales also increased due to the reconstruction demand after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Crane sales in Japan were up compared to last year and they increased in Southeast Asia as a whole. Unit sales in Europe, however, decreased.

Crane segment sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 21.2% year-on-year from JPY 9.5 billion (US $9.6 million) in the first quarter of 2012 to JPY 11.5 billion yen (US $11.7 million). Forecast sales for the full fiscal year 2013 were estimated at JPY 61.0 billion (US $62.1 million).