The rail infrastructure division performed particularly well, with the
rail fastenings unit recording a 76.1% surge in year-on-year sales to
Euros 56 million. Vossloh says this was largely due to high demand for
high-speed fasteners in China, and a steep increase in sales in Spain.
This offset a decline in sales for the switch systems unit, which saw a
17.5% year-on-year fall in revenue from Euros 116.9 million to Euros
96.5 million. Overall sales in the rail infrastructure division rose
3.2% to Euros 152.1 million.  
Sales in the motive power and
components division fell 3.2% to €136.6 million, with the locomotives
unit contributing Euros 101.2 million, a 2.9% decline on the previous
year. However, order intake soared by almost Euros 100 million to Euros
172.2 million, giving the locomotives unit a total order backlog of
Euros 602.5 million at the end of March.
Vossloh expects annual
sales for 2009 to reach Euros 1.29 billion, with an EBIT of Euros 138
million. It expects demand in North America to recover in the second
quarter, and also anticipates follow-up contracts from China. 
 
vossloh.jpg