Thursday, 01 November 2018 11:42

JCB takes on the world

Written by Mark Daniel

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JCB has just released impressive financial results for the 2017 year.

Despite Brexit being foreshadowed as a handbrake on Britain’s exports to Europe, it seems the future holds no fear for construction and farm machinery maker JCB, which has just released impressive year 2017 financial results.

The company produced 75,693 machines, up from 66,011 in 2016, resulting in a sales turnover increase of about 28% to GBP 3.35 billion (NZ$ 7.37b), up from GBP 2.62b.

Earnings rose by 19% to GBP 341 million (NZ$ 685m), and the company notes that since 1975 the average return on investment has always exceeded 30%.

The global market is said to have risen by 21% in 2017, but JCB was ahead of trend with growth up 28%, much of it derived from big gains in its Loadall telehandler product range.

It has 22 factories worldwide, including 11 in the UK, and about 15,000 employees (7600 in UK).

Production figures for the 2018 year are trending upward: daily production is 500 machines. This continued growth is said to be the stimulus for building a GBP 50m factory at the Uttoxeter base for cab production, scheduled for opening in 2019.