Friday, 20 March 2026 11:55

Krone Group Earnings Drop Despite Stable Farm Machinery Sales

Written by  Mark Daniel
Krone BiG X Forage Harvesters are available in two configurations. Krone BiG X Forage Harvesters are available in two configurations.

While turnover was back slightly at €2.3 billion in 2024/2025 (previous year €2.4 billion), the German Krone Group saw earnings fall from €107 million to €40.1 million.

While the commercial vehicle division accounted for around €1.4 billion of total sales, the farm machinery business showed an impressive €846 million turnover.

Although farm incomes showed a slight improvement over the period, political uncertainty, rising costs and climate risks combined to dampen farmers’ resolve to invest in agricultural machinery.

Bernard Krone, chairman of the supervisory board of the Krone Group, noted that short-term customer purchasing behaviour, linked directly to the overall economic situation, is common in the commercial vehicle sector.

“We are increasingly observing similar behaviour in the agricultural machinery segment, with contractors and farmers globally reacting to political and economic uncertainties, by holding back on new investments.”

Despite this hesitation, agricultural machinery sales increased by 1.2% in the fiscal year ending July 2025, with 26.3% of sales generated in the German home market. One third of the remainder was spread across Western European markets. Eastern Europe, North America and the rest of the world accounted for sales of 10%, 20% and 10.7%, respectively. Looking ahead, the company expects sales to remain at similar levels this year, as unrest and international customs policies continue to influence the global economy.

A company spokesman commented, “we have to accept that long-term economic trade agreements no longer provide the stability we are used to, proving to be a major challenge for an internationally active industrial company such as Krone, as we have to carefully plan group-wide production, global distribution with retailers and our service activities. While we are seeing a slight recovery in the German agricultural market, we will also be gradually repositioning ourselves in future markets such as Asia and India”.

https://kronenewzealand.co.nz/

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