Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.

22
Regional developments by division
In the year under review, the Rail Vehicle Systems division
contributed EUR 2,216.9 million (2011: EUR 2,186.9 million)
to consolidated Group sales, while the Commercial Vehicle
Systems division posted sales of EUR 2,098.2 million (2011:
EUR 2,068.2 million). The parallel development of the global
rail and commercial vehicle markets meant that the
contribution to sales of the two divisions remained unchanged
in 2012. As in the previous year, the Commercial
Vehicle Systems division accounted for 49% and the Rail
Vehicle Systems division for 51% of consolidated sales.
The development of the two divisions is set out below for
the individual regions that make up the Group.
Europe
Rail Vehicle Systems
In the year under review, the market situation in Europe
varied from one country to the next in line with general
economic developments in the respective nations. While
the rail vehicle market in Germany showed modest
growth, the markets in France, the UK and Italy remained
at their prior-year level. The rail vehicle market in Russia
moved ahead, while the Spanish market returned negative
growth. The number of locomotives purchased in the
region remained largely unchanged against the previous
year; at the same time the number of freight cars manufactured
rose by approximately 25% to 9,000 units.
Against this backdrop, Knorr-Bremse was able to further
enhance its strong market position by securing some important
orders. Thus, for example, Knorr-Bremse equipped
the LINK diesel multiple units of Polish manufacturer PESA
with key components for the braking, air supply and
brake control systems, as well as supplying part of the bogie
equipment. In 2012, among other commissions, PESA
won an order from Czech operator Ceske Drahy for 31
trains. Also in the year under review, Knorr-Bremse concluded
framework agreements with all three potential
vehicle manufacturers for Deutsche Bahn’s ET DB 400
project. The agreements govern the development and
supply of the braking systems for the vehicle platforms
from Alstom Deutschland, Stadler Pankow and CAF. In the
course of this project, Deutsche Bahn is planning to acquire
up to 1,600 new multiple units for various routes.
The car sets will be built by one of the three manufacturers
and are thus sure to be equipped with braking systems
from Knorr-Bremse.
In 2012, Knorr-Bremse benefited from the growing importance
of the Russian and CIS markets regulated by the
GOST standard and continued the successful expansion
of its market position. By way of example, the division
won an order from Russia’s Transmashholding to supply
the bogie equipment for 50 double-decker passenger
coaches. Moreover, Knorr-Bremse signed a framework
agreement with German locomotive builder Voith governing
the supply of braking systems for 500 shunting
locomotives to be built by Voith for the Russian market in
conjunction with a Russian partner company.
In the RailServices segment too, Knorr-Bremse was able
to secure important orders in 2012. In one example,
Knorr-Bremse began to replace the oil-lubricated compressors
supplied by a competitor as original equipment
for the Talent commuter trains run by Austrian Railways
(ÖBB) with environmentally compatible oil-free compressors.
The entire fleet is scheduled to be converted with
330 type VV120-T oil-free compressors by 2017 at the latest.
The division also won orders to modernize and overhaul
rail vehicles in all other major European markets. Given
the forecast growth in the European aftermarket, this
area of business is set to become even more important
for the Rail Vehicle Systems division and will be duly reinforced.
Commercial Vehicle Systems
In 2012, the Western European truck market was unable
to sustain the growth pattern of the previous two years.