BUSINESSNEWS
VALUE
VALUE
VALUE
VALUE12
12MTH
CURRENCY
ATSTART
ATEND
CHANGE
%CHANGE
MTHSAGO
%CHANGE
CNY
6.270
6.214
-0.0558
-0.89
6.06
2.54
€
0.8913
0.9234
0.0320
3.59
0.7376
25.19
Yen
119.31
119.37
0.06
0.05
102.51
16.45
UK£
0.6497
0.6718
0.0221
3.40
0.6119
9.80
Period:Week9- 13
15
INTERNATIONAL
ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
APRIL 2015
Chinese surge
of this is themovement of the
Legacy
IC
Share Index,which
was established in2002before
theChinesemanufacturers
were a real force in themarket,
andwhich comprisesonly the
European, Japanese andUS
cranemakers. Thismeasureof
the crane sector’s stockmarket
performancewasdown5.17%
betweenweeks 9and13.
Compare that to the3.74%
rise for the
IC
Share Index,
which includes all these
manufacturers aswell as the
Chinese, and the effect of
theShenzhenandShanghai
markets’ buoyancy is clear.
Aswelcome as thesegains
are, it isnot clearwhy therehas
been somuchgrowthamong
Chinese cranemakers' share
The
IC
Share Index
enjoyed amodest
gain inMarchwhile
other benchmark
indicators struggled
for growth. A
surge inChinese
manufacturers’
equitieswas key to
the sector’s growth.
CHRISSLEIGHT
reports
prices. Thedomesticmarket
for cranes is stillweakbyall
accounts, as aremanykey
internationalmarkets–not the
conditionsonewould expect
for a shareprice rally.
But therehasbeena surge in
Chinese shareprices ingeneral
this year. Part of it seems to
be speculative, andpart of it is
founded in thebelief that the
stocksbecameunder-valued
so itwas agood time tobuy.
The rallyhas seenLiugongand
XCMG sharepricesmore than
doubleover the last 12months,
for example.
Currencies
Marchalso saw the continued
appreciationof theUSDollar,
particularlyagainst theEuro.
TheDollar gained3.59% in
valuebetweenweeks 9and
13, butmore tellingly, it isup
amassive25.19% compared
toayear ago.Muchof this
movement has come in the last
threemonthsor so, since the
EuropeanCentral Bank (ECB)
launched its quantitative
easingpolicy.
While theweakEuro is
goodnews forEuro zone-based
exporters, it ismoredifficult
formanufacturersoutside
the region to sell cranes there
because theirprices endup
having tobehigher inEuro
terms, or theyhave toaccept
lessprofit.
The sharp swing in exchange
ratesmight be something that
comesup in first quarter results
and somemanufacturersmay
offer guidanceonhow itwill
affect their sales andprofits for
the rest of theyear.
■
T
he
IC
Share Index
enjoyeda3.74%gain
betweenweeks 9and
13, at a timewhenother key
indicators suchas theDowand
FTSE100 lost ground. Itwas
anunusual turnof events, and
verymuchagainst thenormal
runof thingsover recent years,
when the
IC
Share Indexhas
often struggled tokeepupwith
otherbenchmarks.
But thegrowth in the crane
sectorwasnot evenly spread.
Thegainsweremostlydue to
rises in the leadingChinese
manufacturers’ shareprices–
Liugongwasup12.86%, Sany
10.8%,XCMG9.56%and
Zoomlion9.74%.
Elsewhere in the sector,
shareprices fell.An indicator
APRIL ICSHARE INDEX
EXCHANGERATES – VALUEOFUS$
PRICE
PRICE
PRICE
%
PRICE12
12MTH
STOCK
CURRENCY ATSTART ATEND CHANGE CHANGE MTHSAGO %CHANGE
IC
Share Index*
73.33 76.07
2.74
3.74
61.58
23.53
Legacy ICShare Index**
364.27
345.43
-18.84
-5.17
378.76
-8.80
DowJones Industrial Average
18214
17678
-536
-2.94
16264
8.69
FTSE 100
6948
6880
-68
-0.97
6588
4.43
Nikkei 225
18798
19286
488
2.59
14696
31.23
Hitachi ConstructionMachinery YEN
2213
2093
-120
-5.42
1954
7.11
Konecranes
€
30.93
29.98
-0.95
-3.07
23.68
26.60
KobeSteel
YEN
236
221
-15
-6.36
133
66.17
Liugong
CNY
11.35
12.81
1.46
12.86
5.90
117.12
Manitowoc
US$
22.11
20.79
-1.32
-5.97
30.28
-31.34
Palfinger
€
26.05
23.70
-2.35
-9.02
28.30
-16.25
SanyHeavy Industry
CNY
8.52
9.44
0.92
10.80
5.61
68.27
Tadano
YEN
1549
1620
71
4.58
1306
24.04
Terex
US$
27.37
26.43
-0.94
-3.43
41.72
-36.65
XCMG
CNY
13.50
14.79
1.29
9.56
6.82
116.86
YongmaoHolding
SGD
0.20
0.20
0.00
0.00
0.20
0.00
Zoomlion
CNY
6.26
6.87
0.61
9.74
4.96
38.51
*ICShare Index, 1 Jan2011 = 100
**Legacy ICShare Index, endApril 2002 (week 17) = 100
