According to a new report from the USP Marketing Consultancy in The Netherlands, the final quarter of 2014 was positive for many European installers, although French installation firms saw turnover decline.

The recently published Q4 report of the European Mechanical Installation Monitor says in the UK, more installers reported an increase than a decrease in their turnover in every quarter of 2014 compared to 2013. Expectations  for Q1 2015 are also positive: more than half of the installers (53%) expect an increase in their total turnover in Q1, against only 11% who expect a decrease. 

The German economy and installation sector showed signs of slowing down. Despite the higher share of the group of installers reporting rather growing than declining turnovers in Q1, Q2 and Q3 2014, more than 50% of the installers did not see any change in their turnover in comparison to 2013. Only during the final quarter of 2014 did German installers see turnover increase. Companies experiencing increasing  turnovers were 44% compared to 6% that saw a decline. So despite the relatively moderate start of the winter season, the last quarter of 2014 has been more beneficial than the same period in 2013. German installers are less positive for Q1 2015 and have the lowest average order book duration: 3.6 months.

While the rest of the countries surveyed saw an increase in turnover, French installers fared less well. Throughout the whole 2014 an increasing number indicated a decline in turnover. The final quarter of 2014 was also worse. French companies have the second lowest order book (3.7 months).

Although more installers in Poland saw an increase in turnover in Q1 and Q2 of 2014 a sharp decrease occurred in  Q3 2014. However, Q4 2014 was more positive and so are the expectations for Q1 2015. Order books for Polish installers are the longest of all countries: 5.2.

Since Q2 2014 the situation for Belgian installers has been improving every quarter. Q4 2014 was the most positive so far, with more installers reporting an increase (42%) than a decrease (20%) in their turnover. The expectations for Q1 2015 are even slightly more positive. Order books in Q4 2014 were filled for an average of 4.6 months.

In The Netherlands in Q1 and Q2 2014 a similar number of installers were experiencing increasing and decreasing turnover. However in Q3 more companies saw increasing than decreasing turnovers and this continued into Q4. The outlook for Q1 2015 is positive for Dutch installers. The amount of work in months has grown to an average of 4.7 months.

The European Mechanical Installation Monitor survey is conducted on a quarterly basis among 1,200 HVAC installation companies in six European countries.