Upbeat Titan says strong sales trend continues

STEEL wheel maker Titan Europe says it is trading ahead of expectations, with a £55m improvement in the nine months to the end of September.

In an up-beat trading update, the Midlands-based group said its external sales stood at £255m, compared to £200m in in the previous period. The good news applied to all its market sectors, although its agricultural arm was still trading behind previous year levels.
 
Margins were not yet fully recovered in Titan’s undercarriage division, it said, but they were improving as the negative impact of low volumes and higher material costs are unwound. Sales here were 42% ahead.

The agricultural sector which entered recession later than the other markets, still lags 2009 year on year by 3%, but this is made up of a very slow first quarter followed by recovery in Q2 continuing into Q3.

The construction sector is ahead by 43%. The Mining sector is up by 21%.  In both cases the improvements have been progressive through the year.

Titan Europe’s Chinese undercarriage factory was officially opened last month and the group says it has  order book which includes ‘significant’ orders from indigenous Chinese manufacturers.

The Kidderminister based group said its overall performance was ahead of the plan on which its banking arrangements are based, and order books remained very encouraging.

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