The upward trend in the order situation continued in the third quarter of 2009/2010. Order intake rose in value to EUR 242.9 million, up 39.6 percent on the comparative quarter of the previous year (Q3 2008/2009). Compared with the preceding quarter (second quarter 2009/2010), order intake increased by 12.6 percent. All segments contributed to this growth. In the first nine months of financial year 2009/2010, the Demag Cranes Group generated order intake to the value of EUR 643.1 million (Q1 to Q3 2008/2009: EUR 655.6 million). As a result of the strong order trend in the second and third quarter, the shortfall on the first nine months of the previous year was down to 1.9 percent.

The Group order book stood at EUR 340.9 million as at 30 June 2010. This compares with EUR 384.4 million as at 30 June 2009. The order book has been replenished substantially compared with 31 March 2010 (EUR 290.5 million).

The Industrial Cranes segment achieved strong third-quarter growth in order intake, with a 49.5 percent increase on the same quarter a year earlier (EUR 75.8 million). This also marked further improvement on the EUR 93.9 million recorded in the preceding quarter. On a cumulative basis, the EUR 293.8 million order intake for the first nine months of the current financial year was 8.5 percent down on the comparative figure for the previous year. The order book in the Industrial Cranes segment came to EUR 195.5 million at 30 June 2010 (30 June 2009: EUR 247.5 million). Compared with 31 March 2010, the order book grew by 12.5 percent.

The third quarter of 2009/2010 also brought a continuation of the positive trend in customer orders in the Port Technology segment. At EUR 51.6 million, order intake was above both the same quarter a year earlier (EUR 33.3 million) and the preceding quarter (EUR 44.3 million). The sustained demand for Mobile Harbour Cranes is particularly notable. Some terminal operators are already seeing a return to growth in container handling and ports are also operating at increasingly high capacity. Nonetheless, existing handling capacity is being taken back into service first before any investment is made in expansion. Because of this, the Port Technology segment did not transact any business in automated products during the period under review. Order intake for the first nine months amounted to EUR 126.4 million, 17.1 percent above the comparative figure for the previous year. The order book ran to EUR 82.8 million at 30 June 2010 (30 June 2009: EUR 83.9 million). Compared with 31 March, the order book grew by 36.9 percent.

Order intake in the Services segment, at EUR 78.0 million for the third quarter of 2009/2010, surpassed the figure for the same quarter of the previous year by 20.3 percent. The order situation also improved relative to the preceding quarter (EUR 77.4 million). Increasing crane utilisation by customers further boosted spare parts business in the period under review. The nine-month cumulative figure for order intake came to EUR 223.0 million (Q1 to Q3 2008/2009: EUR 226.8 million). The Services segment order book amounted to EUR 62.5 million at 30 June 2010 (30 June 2009: EUR 53.0 million).