Data: Standard & Poor's Compustat | |
OCTOBER 24, 2005
No. 20: Komatsu Masahiro Sakane, 64, president since June, 2001
Heavy equipment SALES $13.4 billion PROFITS $551 million
But today, Sakane's top worry is whether Komatsu can keep up with demand. The big difference? Sales outside Japan now represent 63.7% of revenue, compared with just 46.5% in 2001. That reflects a strategic decision by Sakane to target emerging markets. He has also been an unflinching cost-cutter, shaving $450 million in fixed costs by pruning the payroll. Komatsu expects operating margins in its core construction machinery and mining equipment division to reach 9.7% by March, 2006 -- on a par with industry leader Caterpillar Inc. (CAT ) By 2010, sales in fast-developing Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will likely increase to 20% of the total, up from 11% now. ``There's a lot more growth ahead,'' says Sakane. And Komatsu is in an excellent position to exploit it.  Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2005, Bloomberg L.P.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version
