Specifically, the Kuka Group's order intake in the second quarter of 2019 fell by 4.8% year-on-year to EUR 914 million (Q2/18: EUR 960.2 million). Compared to the first quarter (Q1/19: EUR 895.2 million), however, the Group was able to record more orders, especially in the Europe and Americas regions. The order backlog decreased slightly by 2.1% from EUR 2.34 billion as at June 30, 2018 to EUR 2.29 billion as at June 30, 2019.

At EUR 801.9 million, sales fell by 6.0% (Q2/18: EUR 852.7 million). Growth was also achieved compared to the first quarter of 2019 (Q1/19: EUR 737.7 million).

Finally, EBIT in the second quarter of 2019 was up on the first quarter of 2019 at EUR 23.7 million (Q1/19: EUR 22.2 million), but below the previous year's figure (Q2/18: EUR 52.1 million). The EBIT margin fell accordingly from 6.1% in the second quarter of 2018 to 3.0% in the second quarter of 2019. In the same quarter of the previous year, earnings were positively influenced by the sale of company shares.

The individual Kuka divisions in detail below:

Kuka Systems

The Systems business segment improved its incoming orders from EUR 165.0 million in the second quarter of 2018 to EUR 222.2 million in the second quarter of 2019. This corresponds to a significant increase of 34.7%. Orders were primarily generated in the Americas region. Sales rose from EUR 205.1 million in the second quarter of 2018 to EUR 238.9 million in the second quarter of 2019, which corresponds to an increase of 16.5%. The slight increase in business volume and the production ramp-up at Kuka Toledo Production Operations (KTPO) had a positive effect. Following the conversion of the production plant, production has been resuming there since April 2019. EBIT in the second quarter of 2019 fell slightly to €12.6 million after €15.7 million in the same quarter of the previous year. At 5.3%, the EBIT margin was below the previous year's figure of 7.7%. However, a significant improvement of 1.4% was achieved compared to Q1/19.

Incoming orders in the first half of 2019 amounted to EUR 425.6 million. Together with the lower order intake from the first quarter of 2019, this resulted in an overall decline of 13.0%. Sales amounted to EUR 455.8 million in the first half of the year and were almost on a par with the previous year (H1/18: EUR 455.7 million). EBIT amounted to €15.7 million in H1/19 after €35.3 million in H1/18, corresponding to an EBIT margin of 3.4% and 7.7% respectively. According to Kuka, the decline was mainly due to the weaker results from the first quarter of 2019, where the difficult market environment put increased pressure on margins.

Kuka Robotics

In the second quarter of 2019, the Robotics segment generated incoming orders of EUR 279.6 million, which corresponds to a year-on-year decrease of 11.0% (Q2/18: EUR 314.2 million). Sales fell slightly by 4.3% from EUR 300.8 million in Q2/18 to EUR 287.9 million in Q2/19, whereas sales have increased further since the beginning of the year (Q1/19: EUR 274.4 million). EBIT amounted to EUR 20.8 million, a significant year-on-year decrease of 65.2% (Q2/18: EUR 59.7 million). In the previous year, earnings were positively influenced by the sale of company shares. The EBIT margin fell accordingly from 19.8% in Q2/18 to 7.2% in Q2/19. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, earnings improved further (Q1 /19: 5.3%).

Incoming orders in the first half of 2019 amounted to EUR 606.9 million, which corresponds to a decrease of 9.0% compared to the same period of the previous year (H1/18: EUR 666.9 million). By contrast, sales revenue increased slightly by 0.8% from EUR 557.8 million in the first half of 2018 to EUR 562.3 million in the first half of 2019. EBIT in the first half of the year amounted to EUR 35.4 million, which corresponds to an EBIT margin of 6.3%. In the same period of the previous year, the Robotics business segment generated EUR 68.2 million with an EBIT margin of 12.2%. In the same period of the previous year, earnings were positively influenced primarily by the sale of company shares.

Logistics Automation

Logistics Automation recorded a sharp increase in incoming orders of 62.6% to € 280.4 million in the second quarter of 2019 (Q2/18: € 172.5 million). This significant increase was mainly due to a major order in the current quarter. Sales revenue fell by 7.2% from € 153.6 million in Q2/18 to € 142.6 million in Q2/19. It should be noted that the Chinese company is now included in earnings on a pro rata basis and no longer in sales due to the change in the consolidation method since 2019. EBIT improved to EUR 2.6 million in the second quarter of 2019 after EUR 1.9 million in the second quarter of 2018. As a result, the EBIT margin increased to 1.8% in Q2/19 after 1.2% in Q2/18.

On a cumulative basis, the Logistics Automation business segment recorded incoming orders of EUR 473.3 million in the first half of 2019 - a significant increase of 44.1% (H1/18: EUR 328.5 million). Sales revenue amounted to EUR 284.6 million in the first half of the year and was therefore almost on a par with the previous year (H1/18: EUR 296.3 million). EBIT in the first half of 2019 amounted to EUR 3.5 million with an EBIT margin of 1.2% (H1/18: EBIT EUR 4.2 million; EBIT margin 1.4%).

Healthcare

At € 55.9 million, incoming orders in the Healthcare segment in Q2/19 were 3.1% higher than in the previous year (€ 54.2 million). At EUR 54.8 million, sales revenue generated in the reporting period was just above the previous year's level (EUR 54.1 million). EBIT, on the other hand, fell significantly by 122.2% to -0.2 million euros, compared to 0.9 million euros in the same period of the previous year. This corresponds to an EBIT margin of -0.4% (Q2/18: 1.7%). This was primarily due to increased expenditure on R&D and sales. Kuka expects an improvement in the second half of the year and a positive EBIT for 2019 as a whole.

In the first half of 2019, Healthcare generated incoming orders of €105.9 million, almost on a par with the previous year (€107.8 million). Sales revenue increased slightly from EUR 104.4 million in H1/18 to EUR 105.7 million in H1/19. EBIT fell to zero (H1/18: EUR 1.2 million), which was due to increased expenditure in the areas of R&D and sales.

China: slump in incoming orders

The China segment generated incoming orders of EUR 139.2 million in the second quarter of 2019. This represents a significant decline of 50.3% compared to the previous year's figure (Q2/18: EUR 279.9 million). This decline was primarily due to the global uncertainties in the world economy. As a result, customers were reluctant to place orders. In addition, in the previous year, larger orders were mainly acquired in the second quarter. Sales revenue increased slightly by 1.9% to EUR 133.5 million. In the previous year, these amounted to EUR 131.0 million. EBIT amounted to -0.9 million euros in the past quarter (Q2/18: -5.3 million euros). This corresponds to an EBIT margin of -0.7% (Q2/18: -4.0%).

Overall, incoming orders in the China segment amounted to EUR 312.0 million in the first half of 2019, down 12.8% on the previous year (H1/18: EUR 357.9 million). At EUR 227.7 million, sales revenue in the first half of 2019 was on a par with the previous year (H1/18: EUR 234.3 million). EBIT rose from EUR -6.7 million to EUR 4.2 million in the first half of 2019. Accordingly, the EBIT margin was 1.8% compared to -2.9% in the first half of 2018. The increase was due to the positive effects of the change in consolidation method in the first quarter of 2019.