31.07.2014

Manitowoc dips

Manitowoc Crane has posted lower sales and profits for the second quarter and half year.

Total revenues for the six months were $1.07 billion a fall of almost 10 percent on the same period last year. Order intake however was up six percent for the period. Operating profits fell over 25 percent to $77 million.

Looking at the second quarter, revenues fell 6.5 percent to $606.1 million, due mostly to lower sales of boom trucks and Rough Terrain cranes in the Americas, while operating profits dropped just over 22 percent to $54.4 million. The backlog/order book at the end of the quarter was $728 million – down 14 percent on the quarter due to slower order intake in quarter two.

Manitowoc as a whole reported first half revenues of $1.86 billion down just over three percent on last year, while pre-tax profits dropped just over 20 percent to $54.4 million.

Chief executive Glen Tellock said: “Our results for the quarter fell short of our expectations with disappointing top-line performance in Cranes, driven by uncertainty spanning certain end markets, as well as limited margin expansion in Foodservice. However, our ability to react swiftly, maintain responsive cost controls, and enhance our operational efficiencies should help mitigate the impact on our overall profitability for the year. We are committed to executing our strategies across the enterprise, in spite of some of the challenges we faced in the first half of the year. The strength of our product offerings, as well as our commitment to innovation, product quality, and reliability should enable us to drive long-term profitable growth as the markets improve.”

“During the second quarter, our Crane segment orders were impacted by prolonged economic pressures from the North American boom truck and rough-terrain crane markets, limited activity in Latin America and the Greater Asia/Pacific region, plus ongoing project delays in Russia. Our initiatives around Lean, quality, procurement, and productivity improvements partially offset the negative impact of lower absorption and volume. Looking ahead, there is significant room for improvement, and we remain confident with our strategies to realize the tangible market opportunities that are developing.”

Vertikal Comment

A disappointing result from Manitowoc which has been gaining ground in some markets and product sectors. This may well change in the second half if the North American market bounces back from what appears to have been a flat second quarter. The company saw a strong reception for its new crawler cranes, which should give it a boost in 2015.

In spite of the declines the company is still performing reasonably well compared to some of its rivals, although it will need to keep an eye on the Rough Terrain market where Tadano appears to have gained further ground recently.