The firm this morning reported underlying profits up 3% to a record £365m for the last year, defying the global slowdown, which has hit rival Caterpillar.
JCB sold 69,250 machines last year, just higher than the 69,100 sales reported the year before, which kept sales revenues flat at £2.7bn.
Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said: “In view of the continued fragility of the global economy, which has led to renewed slowdowns in emerging and developed markets, JCB’s results in 2012 are extremely encouraging.
“They not only demonstrate the resilience of our business, but highlight the importance of continued investment in products, facilities and customer service.
“While construction equipment markets in many parts of the world remained weak, that has been more than offset by strong growth for our agricultural products, particularly in materials handling.
“Despite continued uncertainty, particularly in European economies, 2013 has started satisfactorily. We are expecting some growth this year but how much will depend on the pace of the global recovery.”
JCB’s business in Africa doubled last year and in the Americas it increased by 20%. JCB also saw growth of 12% in the Middle East.