European industry making a comeback…?

Leading industrial groups have seen their order books filling up, perhaps due to the weaker euro in spring/summer 2010, even though many industrials only work in Europe and are not really affected by currency fluctuations. However, Bercy believes that France is now in a post-downturn phase. This new optimism is also reflected in the industrial opinion index which rose to 102 points in October 2009. This upturn is encouraging but we need to remain cautious as industrial production is still 9.3% lower than in June 2008. The Manitou group is one of the success stories that has benefitted from the upturn in the industrial sector. Specialist in the manufacture and sale of handling materiel, all of its activities increased in the 3rd quarter of 2010, and its turnover is up 42% to 2081M€. Its expansion is being stepped up as turnover was already up 36% in the second quarter of 2010. Finally, with full order books, Manitou maintains its 15% turnover growth forecast for 2010 and expects to return to operational equilibrium in the second semester. Its share prices are already high and the continual steady climb could take them to over €16. However, we should bear in mind that the group is highly dependant on the health of the rest of the sector. * Graph: Manitou, November 09 - October 10 - Source: Bloomberg