The Japanese equipment manufacturer Komatsu reported Middle East sales of $357.2m in the nine months to December 2014, a 15.6% increase on the same period the previous year.
Demand for construction and mining machinery in the region, which includes Turkey, was particularly strong in the Gulf states, the firm said.
According to Komatsu’s report, customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were the main drivers of the increase in sales. The average gains in those markets were likely to have been much higher than 15%, given that the firm saw disappointing sales in Turkey.
“In the Middle East, demand in Turkey, the major market of the region, was slack. While crude prices dropped sharply, demand in other areas advanced steadily, centering on some Gulf nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,” the Japanese company said.
Globally, its sales revenue for the nine-month period increased by 2.8% to $10.9bn, pushed up by a weakened Japanese yen.
“For the nine-month period under review, both sales and profits increased from the corresponding period a year ago, directly reflecting the effects of foreign exchange gains resulting from the Japanese yen depreciating more than we had assumed. While demand and sales were stronger than anticipated in some regions, such as North America, both demand and sales fell short of our projection in China and some other countries.”
In comments about the impact of the drop in price of oil, the company suggested that sales may drop in oil-exporting nations, though globally its sales will not be affected.
“We don’t expect direct impact on our business results to a considerable degree. While we can look forward to positive effects on economies and demand through lowered prices in oil importing countries, we are also aware of risks, such as economic slowdowns and declining demand in oil exporting countries. Furthermore, we should regard curtailing capital investment in the energy sector as a risk of demand slowdown in North America.”