FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Forklift manufacturer Kion expects its recently sputtering business in supply chain solutions to recover in the second half of the year. Due to the increasing share of higher-margin projects in the order book, a noticeable increase in sales and an improved operating result can be expected in this area, the company announced in Frankfurt on Thursday. Kion had already presented preliminary figures last week and raised its annual forecast in the process. These have now been confirmed. The share recently traded slightly higher.

The project business for supply chain solutions has been the problem child of the Frankfurt-based company for several quarters. Internal inefficiencies, but also the cyclical weakness in online retailing, are causing considerable problems in what is seen as a business of the future. At the start of the year, the segment was only just profitable.

At the bottom line, the Group earned a total of 73.5 million euros in the first quarter, a good 8 percent less than a year earlier.

For Bernstein analyst Nicholas Green, the detailed figures focus on the weaker order intake. This fell by 15 percent year-on-year. In the supply chain segment, demand slumped by more than 40 percent, while it remained almost stable in the business with forklifts and industrial trucks (Industrial Trucks & Services). Kion is back on track in the forklift and industrial truck business, Stifel analyst Alexander Koller wrote. Here, too, there had been problems in recent months due to strained supply chains and high steel prices./lew/mis/jha/