JCB digs in with increased 2023 sales

Pre-tax profits for construction equipment manufacturer JCB rose to £805.8 million (€964 million) last year, the company announced on September 24.

Turnover from sales of the company’s diggers, bulldozers and farm equipment grew by 14 per cent to £6.5 billion (€7.8 billion) with the company selling 123,228 pieces of machinery, 105,000 more than in 2023.

The company owned by the Bamfords – one the UK’s richest families and said to be worth £7.7 billion (€9.2 billion)  -revealed in its annual report that it had “maintained a strong balance sheet” with no net borrowings throughout 2023.

“North America remains the world’s largest market for construction equipment and JCB’s sales there grew strongly last year,” chief executive Graeme Macdonald said. “Business in India also performed well in a growing market, and while the UK market remained largely flat in 2023, JCB has increased its share,” he pointed out.

Macdonald went on to describe the outlook for 2024 as “less positive” owing to challenging conditions in Britain and Europe “particularly in Germany.

Housebuilding in the UK had declined, he pointed out, which impacted negatively on the use of heavy machinery.

Meanwhile, the company continued to invest in new production capacity and innovation which included the recently-launched JCB Pothole Pro.  This has been designed to tackle the “global scourge of potholes”, JCB chairman Anthony Bamford said.

“Together with our continued focus on the development of hydrogen combustion engines for our equipment in the future, that puts JCB in a strong position for further long-term growth, he added.