Kubota’s reported first quarter results show an 8.6 per cent revenue decline on the same period last year to AU$6.3 billion.
Domestically this drop was mainly attributed to decreased sales of farm equipment but on overseas markets sales of construction machinery, tractors and engines all fell.
Overall, company operating profits took a very substantial 42.4 per cent hit and this was attributed to both sales declines and a significant reduction in production during the fourth quarter of 2019.
While Kubota’s results showed direct impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a number of other contributing factors to the decline in revenue.
In Japan, sales dropped off after a rush before a consumption tax hike, while in North America, sales of construction machinery fell because a bad 2018 hurricane season in the Pacific had delayed shipments.
Engine sales had fallen because OEM clients had ramped down production and the oil and gas markets had largely collapsed.
In Thailand sever water shortages had impacted tractor sales, and in China construction work had been largely suspended.
