Increased production costs fuel record year for Pottinger
Despite these impressive figures, Diarmuid Claridge, CEO of Pottinger Ireland, is keen to stress that the rise is a reflection of a tremendous increase in material and production costs rather than any inflationary profit-taking by the company.
Pottinger adapt to difficulties
This sentiment was was echoed in the company’s annual report, which noted that it had been a difficult year for the company in trying to cope with supply issues and the conflict in Ukraine.
Gregor Dietachmayr, spokesperson for the management team, noted the high market prices of agricultural products as an opportunity, while high energy prices look as though they will have an impact across the board.
It will be important for the company to keep a close eye on these factors during the coming year. That being said, the great success in the past financial year provides a solid basis for ongoing future growth.
Although the home country obviously remains an important market, success was achieved mainly outside of Austria with the export ratio being 91%.
France and Germany as chief export markets
Almost 60% of total turnover was achieved in Germany; France; Austria; Poland; the US; and Switzerland. The largest individual markets were Germany with just under 18% followed by France, which accounted for almost 15% of turnover.
In terms of machine sales, grassland equipment performed very well, accounting for the largest share of turnover at 67%.
In the loader-wagon segment alone, the company achieved sales growth of almost 13% and also won the Farm Machine 2022 award for the latest version of the Jumbo series.
The share of arable equipment in machinery sales is 33%, while the original spare parts unit enjoyed a 12% growth in sales.
Looking ahead, Gregor Dietachmayr still sees the supply chain causing problems for the company going into the next financial year. However, he remains optimistic about the overall picture.
