27.10.2011

Upwards and onwards at Manitou

Access and telehandler manufacturer Manitou has reported a strong third quarter revenue growth in its quarterly revenue trading statement.

Looking first at the nine months to the end of September, overall revenues increased 38 percent over last year to €821 million.

The Rough Terrain division, which includes telehandlers and access equipment and represents 71 percent of the group’s revenues, grew 39 percent to €582.2 million. The Compact Equipment division, which includes Gehl and US telehandler sales, saw revenues rise by 52 percent to €135.5 million thanks to strong skid steer and fleet replacement orders.

Taking a look at the third quarter, total sales were €260 million – up 25 percent on the same quarter in 2010. Sales at the Rough Terrain division were 29 percent higher at €185 million, while Compact Equipment grew by 28 percent to €44.9 million.

The industrial division, largely fork trucks, grew by 17 percent year to date and two percent in the third quarter.

Geographically all regions posted strong growth, year to date French sales are up 32 percent to €260.2 million – 31.7 percent of the total, while the rest of Europe grew by 39 percent to €353.9 million - 43.1 percent of the total. The Americas posted the strongest gain, up 58 percent to €125 million or 15.3 percent of total sales, while sales to the rest of the world expanded by 28 percent to €82 million, representing 9.9 percent of total sales.

Manitou says that order intake kept pace with invoicing, leaving the order book at its previously high level with over 10,000 units in the backlog. However it expects slower order intake and higher shipment levels to reduce this by year end. It now expects the full year to come in around 30 percent higher than 2010 which means around €1.1 billion.

Chief executive Jean-Christophe Giroux said: “Quarter three was in-line with our expectations and followed the same trends as the first half. Order intake is still strong, backlog unusually high and lead times too long. It however secures our 2011 landing and provides some visibility beyond.”

“It is still very difficult to predict the general 2012 outlook from current mixed signals, but we are preparing for further growth and working on our flexibility. Fleet expansion orders would certainly be challenged first in a nervous economic environment, but ‘new business’ streams will remain firm, and older machines in the field will still need to be replaced. The latter remains the biggest growth driver at our level, but also the most delicate to forecast, with confidence and finance getting in the middle of users’ economics. We remain cautiously optimistic, with a 10 to 15 percent revenue growth target for 2012.”

Vertikal Comment

This is another solid set of revenue numbers from Manitou which is benefiting from a strong improvement in the telehandler market and the ‘coming good’ of its Gehl adventure.

The nine month revenues came close to matching full year 2010, and all it needs to do now is have a similar fourth quarter to the third to reach €1.1 billion in revenues. Given its strong back log and aim to reduce this, it could in fact do a fair bit more. Although with the current economic situation casting something of a shadow over confidence levels it might be better served to carry more of the order book into the New Year?

If 2012 works out as Manitou expects it could in fact match the record revenues it achieved in 2008. It certainly has plenty of scope, if it can gain an extra percentage point or two in powered access market share and continue its upward trends in the USA, while benefitting from improved Gehl distribution in Europe, 2012 could in fact be a record breaking year.