By Louis van Boxel Wolff and Bartosz Dabrowski
(Reuters) – Swiss elevator and escalator maker Schindler reported a slight drop in orders in the second quarter on Friday as a slowdown in China’s construction market weighed on new installations.
The company’s orders came in at CHF2.98 billion ($3.35 billion) in the second quarter, down 0.4% year-on-year in local currencies and slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations of CHF2.95 billion in the FARA consensus.
New installation volumes in China fell 5 to 10 percent during the period compared to last year, Schindler said.
Construction starts in China fell by about 24% in the first half of 2024, pointing to more difficult conditions for installation work for companies such as Schindler and its Finnish rival Kone.
Schindler said its service and modernization business, which focuses on maintenance and overhauls, posted growth in the second quarter.
She also warned that any new facilities in the Asia-Pacific region, without China, including India, would be worse than expected.
India’s urban expansion is a key growth market for elevator makers. Sales growth in India and Southeast Asia has helped Kone offset some weakness in China.
She added that new facilities in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa are expected to achieve better results than Schindler expected.
Schindler confirmed its outlook for the year, but broke with its usual practice of providing guidance on net profit.
(1 USD = 0.8889 CHF)
