04.03.2015

Strong finish for Bronto

Finnish truck mounted lift manufacturer Bronto has reported a strong fourth quarter

Looking first at 2014 as a whole, revenues were up marginally at $139.4 million, while operating profits slumped from $9 million in 2013 to $3.9 million, due to an unfavourable product mix and exchange movements – While Bronto is Finnish, it is owned by US based Federal Signal. Order intake for the year was $150 million up 15 percent on the year., leaving the backlog at $73.5 million.

Looking at the fourth quarter revenues increased almost 70 percent to $55.3 million, due to heavy shipments, many of them orders that had been delayed from earlier in the year. Operating profits more than tripled to $5.2 million, thanks to the increased volumes. Order intake increased 18 percent, due to a $9.7 million increase in European orders, partially offset by a $4.6 million decrease in orders in the Asia Pacific market.

Chief executive Dennis Martin: “We wrapped up a strong year with an outstanding fourth quarter. Our Environmental Solutions group continued its momentum, and sales at our Fire Rescue group (Bronto) jumped by 69 percent, including shipments that were deferred from prior quarters. Operating margin in each of our groups was up compared to last year, translating to a consolidated operating margin of 11.7 percent for the quarter".

“Operating margin was up in each of our groups, with the Environmental Solutions Group, at 15.5 percent, the Safety and Security Systems group, at 16.4 percent, and the Fire Rescue group at 9.4 percent”.

Jennifer Sherman, chief operating officer added: “We enter 2015 with healthy backlogs and good business prospects for all three of our groups. Disruptions in the oil exploration and production markets and continued volatility in the currency markets create uncertainty for some of our businesses. At this point, it is difficult to predict the level of activity for the second half of the year. In addition, a number of our businesses got off to a slow start for the first quarter, which is typically our softest quarter. Considering these factors, we remain cautiously optimistic about our outlook.”

Vertikal Comment

A strong end to what appeared to be a tough year for Bronto, some assumed that the delayed orders/shipments would -as is often the case – eventually turn into cancelled orders, so it is good news to see so many of them finally ship in the fourth quarter.

The company entered the new year in good shape and is promising a banner year in 2015, thanks to a strong order book at the start and a number of substantial orders placed more recently. Expect Bronto to confirm its position as Europe’s leading truck mounted lift manufacturer with a record result this year.