Volvo Reports Record Q3 Truck Deliveries
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Volvo Group reported increased revenue and net income in the third quarter as deliveries of trucks rose 21%, with the strongest revenue coming from Europe as fleets replaced aging trucks — prompting a record for both truck production and delivery.
For the period ended Sept. 30, Volvo (which reports in Swedish krona) posted the equivalent net income of $770 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $630 million, 31 cents, a year earlier.
Revenue rose to $10.3 billion compared with $7.6 billion in the 2021 period, according to the Sweden-based company.
Its operating margin — the measure of how much profit a company makes on a dollar of sales after paying for variable costs of production — slipped to 10.3% compared with 11% in the 2021 period.
“Costs related to energy, material and supply chain disruptions continue to increase, constituting a challenge, and we work actively to try to compensate for these effects,” CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.
“We will therefore continue to have disruptions, stoppages and extra costs both in the production of trucks and other parts of the group,” he added.
Lundstedt
Revenue from truck sales jumped 41% to $6.7 billion compared with $4.75 billion a year earlier.
Truck deliveries swelled to 53,303 compared with 43,984 a year earlier.
Truck orders in the quarter were 64,689, a 27% increase compared with 51,118 a year earlier. Lundstedt noted the company continues to restrict slotting of orders “too far in the future.”
North American orders dropped 14% to 18,641 and deliveries increased 30% to 13,312.
Volvo Trucks North America through August had a 10.3% share, up from 8.4% in the 2021 period. Mack Trucks' share dropped to 5.9% compared with 7.2% a year earlier.
Orders in Europe increased 76% to 32,329 vehicles and deliveries increased 18% to 23,857.
Its heavy-duty market share in Europe rose to 18.9% compared with 15.4% a year earlier. Its electric heavy-duty market share fell to 30.9% compared with 42.9% in the 2021 period.
Renault Trucks posted a market share of 9.7% compared with 8.4% a year earlier, and its electric heavy-duty share rose to 22.9% compared with 18.4%. Renault will open soon for pre-orders of heavy-duty electric trucks for regional transport and urban construction, with production scheduled for 2023.
Financial services revenue related to trucks rose 32% to $390 million compared with $290 million a year earlier.
Meanwhile, in the quarter, production started on electric versions of its heavy-duty FH, FM and FMX models, the three models that represent around two-thirds of the company’s sales. Volvo noted it now has six electric truck models in production. It reported it produces the electric trucks on the same line as its conventional trucks, which “gives high production flexibility and efficiency gains.” The batteries are supplied by Volvo Trucks’ new battery assembly plant in Ghent, Belgium.
Production of the Volvo VNR Electric for North America began in 2020 in Dublin, Va.
Watch an online presentation of the #Q3 report, starting here at 09.00 CET. For questions, please go to https://t.co/npeXWaZBOu#VolvoGroupReport #investment #fintwit #quarterlyreport #volvo https://t.co/6KHbCExsXa — Volvo Group (@VolvoGroup) October 20, 2022
Volvo also has started the process to establish a large-scale production plant for battery cells in Mariestad, Sweden.
“The ramp up of electric vehicles will require large volumes of high-performing batteries, using fossil-free energy,” in production, Lundstedt said, adding Volvo will partner with others on this and reach large-scale series production by 2030.
Its construction segment saw orders fall 32% compared with a year earlier amid high interest rates and restrictive order slotting, but the order backlog remains high, it noted. Net sales in the third quarter increased to $2.1 billion compared with $1.75 billion in the 2021 period.
Its buses unit increased revenue by 46% to $430 million, but Volvo noted the segment’s profitability is still low with an adjusted operating margin of 2% compared with 3.8% a year earlier.
Its Penta marine engine and drive unit grew sales by 30% to $400 million as its operating margin slipped to 13.3% compared with 14.6% a year earlier.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing below or go here for more info:
