Donghai Securities: September forklift sales increased by over 20%, leading companies showed impressive revenue performance in the third quarter

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Donghai Securities released a research report stating that in September 2025, the domestic and foreign sales of forklifts continued to grow at double digits, showing an accelerating growth trend. This is attributed to the overseas market layout and competitiveness enhancement of domestic forklift companies, as well as the growing global demand for forklifts. Meanwhile, domestic demand is gradually improving, with domestic sales achieving high growth of 29.3%. Macroeconomic indicators are gradually improving, domestic demand is gradually recovering, external demand continues to grow, and the risk of tariff friction is easing, leading to better overall forklift sales performance for the year. In terms of targets, it is recommended to pay attention to domestic forklift leading companies with high brand recognition, deep overseas layout, and strong R&D capabilities, such as AHHL (600761.SH), HANGCHA GROUP (603298.SH), and EP (603194.SH).

The main points of Donghai Securities are as follows:

Event: According to data released by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, the overall forklift sales in September 2025 reached 130,400 units, a year-on-year increase of 23%. Among them, domestic sales were 81,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 29.3%; overseas sales were 49,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%. From January to September 2025, the cumulative forklift sales reached 1,106,400 units, a year-on-year increase of 14%. Among them, domestic sales were 697,400 units, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%; export sales were 409,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%.

Forklift sales in September grew by over 20%

In September 2025, the domestic and foreign sales of forklifts continued to grow at double digits, showing an accelerating growth trend, benefiting from the overseas market layout and competitiveness enhancement of domestic forklift companies, as well as the growing global demand for forklifts. Meanwhile, domestic demand is gradually improving, with domestic sales achieving high growth of 29.3%. From the perspective of domestic macro data, forklift demand is related to the prosperity of manufacturing and warehousing logistics. In September 2025, the manufacturing PMI new orders index reached 49.70%, a month-on-month increase of 0.2 percentage points, indicating a gradual warming of manufacturing prosperity. From logistics data, in August 2025, the total social logistics volume increased by 5.2% year-on-year. Additionally, the government work report proposed an expected GDP growth of around 5% this year. Macroeconomic indicators are gradually improving, domestic demand is gradually recovering, external demand continues to grow, and the risk of tariff friction is easing, leading to better overall forklift sales performance for the year.

JD.com accelerates the process of unmanned and intelligent logistics

On October 24, 2025, JD Logistics announced that it will purchase 3 million robots, 1 million unmanned vehicles, and 100,000 drones in the next five years, to be fully applied in various logistics supply chain links such as warehousing, sorting, transportation, and distribution, promoting the construction of an intelligent logistics system. This move marks the transition of intelligent logistics from pilot exploration to large-scale application, promoting the landing process of intelligent logistics equipment, and is expected to have great potential in optimizing consumer experience and reducing social logistics costs in the future.

HANGCHA GROUP: Releases profit distribution plan, profitability continues to optimize

HANGCHA GROUP released its third-quarter report for 2025, achieving revenue of 13.972 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 8.69%; achieving a net profit attributable to the parent company of 1.753 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.21%; and achieving a net cash flow from operating activities of 689 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.52% The company announced the profit distribution plan for the first three quarters, proposing a cash dividend of 2 yuan for every 10 shares, totaling 262 million yuan (including tax), accounting for 14.95% of the net profit attributable to the parent company for the first three quarters. In the third quarter alone, the company achieved 4.670 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.22%; the net profit attributable to the parent company reached 633 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.79%. The company's gross profit margin and net profit margin in the third quarter were 26.51% and 13.94%, respectively, with slight increases of 1.27 percentage points and 0.24 percentage points, continuing to optimize profitability.

AHHL: Double-digit revenue growth in the first three quarters

AHHL released its third-quarter report for 2025, achieving revenue of 14.934 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 10.94%; the net profit attributable to the parent company reached 1.121 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.88%; the net cash flow generated from operating activities was 963 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 106.23%, mainly due to an increase in cash received from the sale of goods and the provision of services. In the third quarter alone, the company achieved 4.967 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.57%; the net profit attributable to the parent company reached 303 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.84%. The company's gross profit margin and net profit margin in the third quarter were 24.21% and 7.03%, respectively, with a gross profit margin increase of 2.79 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Investment Recommendations

Forklifts have a wide range of downstream applications, with weaker cyclical characteristics and a high correlation with the prosperity of the manufacturing industry. The future recovery of the manufacturing industry and the growth of warehousing and logistics will have a positive impact on domestic forklift demand. At the same time, domestic companies are accelerating their global layout, establishing local production capacity and after-sales service systems overseas, gradually increasing their global market penetration. Additionally, domestic forklift leaders are actively laying out the fields of intelligent logistics and logistics robots, which will reshape the competitive landscape of the logistics industry. It is recommended to pay attention to domestic forklift leaders with high brand recognition, deep overseas layout, and strong R&D capabilities, such as AHHL (600761.SH), HANGCHA GROUP (603298.SH), and EP (603194.SH).

Risk Warning

Risks of globalization progress not meeting expectations; risks of intensified industry competition; risks of international trade