Machinery manufacturer Pottinger is reporting a “satisfactory business performance” for the 2019/2020 business year, despite the impact of Covid-19.

The business recorded sales of €366 million in the period, the second highest annual volume in sales since the company was founded.

Although the figure represents a 4% drop on the record sales level the previous business year, it is still a 3% increase on the sales figure for the business year before that.

Pottinger

90% of those sales were on the international market, outside the company’s home base of Austria.

Grassland equipment accounted for around 70% of total machine sales during this financial year, while tillage equipment and seed drill technology accounted for just under 30% percent of the turnover. Meanwhile, spare parts sales increased by 7%.

Almost 60% of Pottinger sales were in six countries: Germany; France; Austria; Poland; Czech Republic; and Switzerland.

As is typically the case for Pottinger, Germany accounted for most of the sales, with a 19% share of the sales, while France accounted for 15% of the sales, with sales in both territories remaining constant over the course of the financial year. The company’s home market, Austria, accounted for 10% of sales.

Pottinger

The downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in some European countries was partially offset by significant increases in machine sales outside Europe, with Australia seeing a 68% increase in sales, and the US seeing a 67% increase.

Other countries that saw significant sales growth include: Belgium; Denmark; Sweden; Kazakhstan; Belarus; China; and Japan.

“Even though the wind has veered, we have continued to stick to the course we have set,” said Gregor Dietachmayr, a Pottinger spokesperson.

“With a team of such flexible and loyal employees and the partnership-based cooperation with our business partners all over the world, the company will continue to overcome the challenges that await us in the coming years,” he added.

Pottinger Aerosem

Our future lies in the creation of modern workplaces, in the further development of our digitalisation strategy, in the conservation of resources and in the cost effectiveness of our products.

“Nobody can seriously predict how things are going to develop at the moment. But we are hoping the situation will improve towards the end of the calendar year,” Dietachmayr concluded.