25.04.2005

Skyjack revenues jump 80 percent

Linamar, the Canadian automotive component producer that owns Skyjack, the Canadian scissor lift producer, has announced its preliminary results for 2004.

They show that Skyjack sales continued to grow at a rapid pace, jumping 80 percent compared to 2003, to 207.7 million Canadian dollars (US$168/£88 million). The Skyjack business was the fastest growing sector within the billion dollar group.

In Europe Skyjack achieved results of C$ 31 million ($25.2/£13.2 million).

Operating earnings in the Industrial sector, which is largely Skyjack, improved by C$19.4 million on 2003 to C$19.8($16/£8 million) in 2004, moving from a breakeven situation to 9.2 percent of sales.

Operating earnings in Linamar’s European business increased to C$4.2 million ($3.4/£1.8 million) from a loss of C$1.1 million ($0.9/£0.47 million) in 2003. Much of this improvement came from “improvements in the earnings of Skyjack in Europe through continued efforts to gain operational efficiencies and expanded sales in the European marketplace”.

The Linamar group as a whole posted revenues of C$1.844 billion ($1.5/£0.78billion) up 22 percent on 2003, Net earnings after Interest and tax were C$92 million ($75/£39 million)

A statement from Frank and Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar Chairman and CEO respectively, said

“In Linamar’s Industrial Products business, which is dominated by Linamar’s Skyjack operations, the market remains highly competitive. The construction equipment market rebounded in 2004 and the expectation is that the market will remain strong through 2005 and beyond, provided economic conditions permit.

In 2004, strong sales growth for Skyjack occurred not only in North America but also in the UK and Europe. Performance by market is very difficult to predict. The significant increase in Skyjack sales in 2004 over 2003 is expected to moderate somewhat in 2005 the market will remain relatively strong although growth will increase at a slower rate”.

The Skyjack refurbishment/rebuild business or “reconditioning division” was also cited in the statement as a success.

“Machines of various makes from all manufacturers are reconditioned and returned to the rental market for fleet use. Not only has this division become a contributor to the growth in Skyjack, it has allowed the engineers of Skyjack to become more knowledgeable concerning the competitors’ products” it said.