Liebherr was once again able to significantly increase its turnover compared to the previous year. The Group achieved significant increases in turnover in eleven of its 13 product segments. Turnover in the product segments Earthmoving Equipment, Material Handling Equipment, Special Civil Engineering Equipment, Mobile and Crawler Cranes, Tower Cranes, Concrete Technology and Mining totaled 9,557 million euros and was thus 11.6 % above the previous year's level. In the Maritime Cranes, Aerospace and Transportation Technology, Gear Cutting Technology and Automation Systems, Refrigeration and Freezing Equipment, Components and Hotels product segments, Liebherr achieved a total turnover of 4,485 million euros, an increase of 11.3 % compared to the previous year.

Sales region Europe: particularly positive sales development in Germany, France and Spain

Business developed positively in almost all sales regions. Within the European Union, traditionally the Group's strongest sales region, an increase in turnover was achieved. Sales in Germany, France and Spain developed particularly positively. The Group recorded a slight decline in non-EU countries.

Strong year in North America, Asia and Oceania

The financial year was also extremely pleasing in North America - driven by the USA and Mexico - as well as in Asia and Oceania. Sales in the Africa/Middle East region were also significantly higher than in the previous year. In Central and South America, sales were on a par with the previous year.

The Group achieved an annual result of 367 million euros in 2023. Both the operating result and the financial result improved significantly. The number of employees also grew again in the 2023 financial year. At the end of the year, Liebherr employed a total of 53,659 people worldwide, 2,338 more than in the previous year.

Research focus on alternative drives and digitalization

Last year, Liebherr invested 634 million euros in research and development. A large part of this went into the development of new products. The areas of alternative drives, digitalization and autonomy were once again the focus of research. In the 2023 financial year, Liebherr further developed existing technologies and added numerous machines, components and solutions to its product range.

Liebherr pursues an open-technology approach to drive technology. This includes electric drives, alternative fuels for conventional combustion engines and hydrogen-based drives such as hydrogen combustion engines and hydrogen-powered fuel cells.

In the area of digitalization, Liebherr pushed ahead with the further development of digital platforms, among other things. The central online platform that bundles the Group's digital services and offerings is MyLiebherr. In 2023, the Tower Crane Portal for tower cranes was integrated into the MyLiebherr customer portal. Programs such as the Crane Finder for mobile and crawler cranes, the MyNotifier application and the "Tower Crane Operating System 2" for many bottom-slewing cranes were also developed further. In the earthmoving and material handling machines product segments, Liebherr introduced a new app, MyGuide for Earthmoving.

Another development focus was on projects in the areas of autonomy and automation. The Master V crane control system is used in the latest series of Liebherr mobile harbor cranes. This forms the basis for the future integration of assistance and partial automation systems. As part of the Zirkel research project, Liebherr is developing automated dismantling processes for battery packs from electric vehicles. These are necessary in order to achieve high recycling rates and establish CO₂-neutral battery production along the entire process chain in the long term. In addition, the LiReCon teleoperation unit was further developed and tested and autonomous T 264 mining trucks were put into operation for validation at a customer.

Record investments in production, sales and service

Investments of a record 1,030 million euros were made in the production facilities and the global sales and service network. Investments thus increased by 167 million euros compared to the previous year. This was offset by depreciation and amortization amounting to 623 million euros.

Outlook for 2024

Liebherr has started the current business year with a very solid order backlog. Although there are signs of differing developments between individual product segments, Liebherr will be able to balance these out thanks to its decentralized, diversified structure and international positioning, according to the company. In the course of the transformation processes in numerous national economies worldwide, the demand for large cranes as well as for raw materials is increasing. This offers Liebherr market opportunities. For example, the Group expects growth in the USA and Australia.