Lift makers' order intakes hold up despite slow China

By Louis van Boxel-Woolf and Bartosz Dabrowski

(Reuters) -European liftmakers Schindler and Kone posted second-quarter order intake above expectations on Friday, but warned China's construction slowdown was weighing on new installations.

Schindler's order intake was 2.98 billion Swiss francs ($3.35 billion) in the second quarter, down 0.4% from a year earlier in local currencies, but just ahead of analysts' forecast of 2.95 billion francs in a poll compiled by Vara.

Kone's order intake grew 3.6% in local currencies to 2.33 billion euros ($2.54 billion), surpassing analysts' forecast by about 3%, based on Vara consensus.

Schindler said the volume of new installations in China fell between 5% and 10% in the quarter compared to last year, while Kone said the 11.1% fall in second-quarter sales for its new buildings business was mostly due to its performance in China.

Chinese construction starts fell by nearly 24% in the first half of 2024, signalling further tough conditions for the companies' installation businesses.

Both Schindler and Kone said, however, that their renovation and maintenance businesses would continue to grow across the world, including China.

"New construction in China is indeed coming down, but there are 1.3 million elevators in China that need modernisation," Kone CEO Philippe Delorme said during a media call.

"By 2030 there will be 3.2 million," he added.

Out of the two, Schindler is less exposed to China. About 15% of its revenue came from China last year, versus 30% for Kone, according to estimates from Jefferies analysts.

Although Schindler confirmed its outlook for the year, it also warned that new installations in the Asia-Pacific region without China, which includes India, would be worse than it had expected.

Urbanising India is a key growth market for the pair. Growing sales in India and Southeast Asia have helped Kone offset some of the weakness in China.

Kone narrowed the range of its guidance, saying it expects sales growth in constant currencies of between 0% and 4%, down from its previous 0% to 5% forecast.

($1 = 0.8889 Swiss francs)

($1 = 0.9187 euros)

(Reporting by Louis van Boxel-Woolf and Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)