by MA Yueran
Nine of the 10 listed Chinese construction machinery leaders recorded year-on-year profit growth in the January-June period, according to company filings. Sany Heavy Industry Co led the field, ranking first in both net profit and growth rate. Anhui Heli Co was the only major manufacturer to post a slight decline.
XCMG Construction Machinery Co remained the industry's largest player by revenue, though its profit and growth lagged Sany's. Since its overall listing in 2022 following the absorption of XCMG Ltd, XCMG's net profit had topped Sany's for three consecutive years. But the gap has now reversed.
Sany's advantage came from its aggressive overseas expansion. International sales accounted for more than 60% of total revenue in the first half, with gross margins about 9 percentage points higher than in the domestic market.
XCMG has also strengthened its global presence. Overseas revenue rose 16.6% year on year to 25.55 billion yuan, making up nearly half of its total sales. Export income hit a record 21.12 billion yuan, up 21.1%. The company cited strong growth in earthmoving machinery and aftermarket services, while cash flow from operations more than doubled. However, impairment provisions of 560 million yuan, mainly from asset write-downs, weighed on results.
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co reported faster profit growth than XCMG, but was the only one among the top three to see both quarterly and annual declines in second-quarter net income. Its overseas business continued to expand, with revenue rising more than 14% to 13.82 billion yuan, accounting for 55.6% of total sales. Growth was particularly strong in Africa, where sales jumped 179%.
Anhui Heli, a leading forklift maker, was the lone laggard. First-half revenue rose 6.2% to 9.39 billion yuan, but net profit fell 4.6% to 796 million yuan.
The sector remains highly cyclical, with the last domestic boom running from 2016 to mid-2021. After a downturn in recent years, recovery signs began to emerge in 2024 and have continued this year.
By contrast, global giants Caterpillar and Komatsu posted weaker earnings. Caterpillar's first-half sales fell 5% to US$30.8 billion (219.7 billion yuan), with operating profit down 22%. The company warned that new tariffs could cost US$1.5 billion to US$1.8 billion this year. Komatsu's quarterly sales declined 5.2% to 909.5 billion yen (44.1 billion yuan), with net profit slumping nearly 17%, hurt by a stronger yen, weaker demand and rising costs.
