The Global Demographic Tailwind

[DewDiligence]

Komatsu Says China Sales Are Running 40% Ahead of 2008

[Komatsu is CAT’s largest competitor.]

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINT29418520090723

›Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:17am EDT

TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - Japanese construction equipment maker Komatsu Ltd said unit sales in China were up about 40 percent so far in July from a year earlier, helped by the country's $585 billion economic stimulus package.

Komatsu, the world's second-largest earth-moving equipment maker after Caterpillar Inc (CAT), has forecast a 12 percent rise in revenues from construction machinery in China to 200 billion yen ($2.1 billion) this business year to March 2010.

Komatsu is counting on China to cushion the blow of slumping demand in the U.S. and Europe, the main drivers behind its forecast for global sales to fall 22 percent this year.

Hydraulic excavators and other construction machinery have enjoyed solid demand in China after Beijing announced a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package at the end of 2008 to help the economy to weather the global slowdown.

The strong showing so far in July follows a roughly 30 percent year-on-year increase in unit sales in China in June, a Komatsu spokesman said, confirming earlier comments by Komatsu Chairman Masahiro Sakane to Bloomberg News.

Caterpillar on Wednesday posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year outlook, citing signs of global economic stability.‹