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KION starts in 2025 with solid customer demand amidst increasing global geopolitical uncertainties

In the first quarter of 2025, KION's key performance indicators developed in line with expectations for the financial year.

2025-04-30

Based on the lower level of the order book at the beginning of the year, revenue in both operating segments was slightly below the prior-year level. Despite the increasing economic uncertainties associated with the threat of trade conflicts and geopolitical tensions, customer demand was higher year-on-year in the first quarter 2025 in both operating segments.

In a volatile environment, we had a solid start into the year in line with our outlook. KION is shaping world trade – globally, regionally, and locally – even in times of political and economic uncertainty. Our company is well-positioned for shifting geopolitical scenarios. We have done our homework expanding our capacities in production, R&D and sales and service networks in the APAC and Americas regions. We produce local for local, and local for global and are managing the dynamic tariff situation in an agile manner.

Rob Smith, Chief Executive Officer of KION GROUP AG

With € 2.706 billion (Q1 2024: € 2.439 billion), order intake on KION level was higher year-on-year driven by both segments. Order intake at Industrial Trucks & Services was € 1.958 billion (Q1 2024: € 1.804 billion) and benefited from both the new truck business and the continued growth of service business. The significant increase in order intake at Supply Chain Solutions to € 755.7 million (Q1 2024: € 641.6 million) was mainly due to the strong growth in modernization and upgrade projects reported in the service business.

Group revenue in the first quarter of 2025 slightly declined by 2.5 percent to € 2.788 billion year-on-year (Q1 2024: € 2.859 billion). In the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, revenue declined by 1.7 percent to € 2.116 billion (Q1 2024: € 2.153 billion), mainly due to the normalizing order book. Revenue in the Supply Chain Solutions segment declined by 4.3 percent to € 687.7 million (Q1 2024: € 718.9 million) due to the lower order intake in the project business in the previous quarters. Service business achieved a significant increase in revenue year-on-year.

Adjusted EBIT on group level reached € 195.5 million (Q1 2024: € 226.7 million). The adjusted EBIT margin decreased to 7.0 percent (Q1 2024: 7.9 percent). Adjusted EBIT in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment decreased to € 185.5 million (Q1 2024: € 239.7 million) with an adjusted EBIT margin of 8.8 percent (Q1 2024: 11.1 percent), mainly due to lower volumes and the year-on-year decline in the gross margin. At € 36.4 million, Supply Chain Solutions almost doubled adjusted EBIT year-on-year (Q1 2024: € 18.4 million). The adjusted EBIT margin significantly improved to 5.3 percent (Q1 2024: 2.6 percent). Key drivers of the increase in profitability were the growth in service business and solid project execution.

You can find our business results for Q1 2025 at a glance in our

More detailed information on business performance you can find in our