14.02.2018

Terex Cranes back in profit

Terex Cranes has continued its recovery and posted a fourth quarter profit on flat sales.

Total full year revenues were $1.19 billion, seven percent lower than in 2016, while the operating loss of $321.7 million was slashed to $17.8 million for the year. The company has not disclosed its backlog/order book yet but says that it is 70 percent up on the same point last year.

In the fourth quarter sales we just under one percent lower than in the same quarter in 2016 at $324.4 million. Last year’s operating loss of $280.2 million, was converted into a $1.8 million profit in 2017.

President Steve Filipov said: “We will be launching innovative new products throughout the year. The global crane markets have stabilised, and we see pockets of growth. We plan to improve productivity on higher volumes and better operational execution in 2018.”

The Terex group as a whole reported total revenues of $4.36 billion for the year, just under two percent down on 2016. The previous year’s pre-tax loss of $270.7 million however, was converted into a pre-tax profit of $112 million for 2017. In the fourth quarter revenues were 3.5 percent higher at $1.06 billion, with a pre-tax profit of $25.4 million, compared to a loss in the same quarter of 2016 of $309 million.

Terex chief executive John Garrison said: “The fourth quarter marked an excellent finish to an important year for Terex. We increased operating margins, bookings and backlog in every segment and significantly improved earnings per share.”

“We delivered on our commitments in 2017. The sales of port handling and the remaining Construction businesses concluded the Focus element of our strategy and created substantial value for our shareholders. We continued to Simplify the company by executing our footprint rationalisation plan, exiting 12 manufacturing locations totalling 2.6 million square feet. We reduced administrative expenses while increasing investment in innovation, strategic sourcing, and commercial excellence. We fundamentally improved our capital structure by executing our disciplined capital allocation strategy, reducing debt by $583 million, refinancing at the lowest interest rates in the company’s history, and returning capital to shareholders by repurchasing $924 million of Terex stock.”

“By implementing our strategy, strengthening the company, and increasing backlog by 56 percent, we are well positioned for what we expect to be an improving global market environment in 2018. We expect to increase revenue and improve operating margins in every business segment. We will continue to implement the Simplify and Execute to Win elements of our strategy and follow our disciplined capital allocation strategy. We expect to deliver 2018 earnings per share of between $2.35 and $2.65, excluding restructuring, transformation investments, and other unusual items, on net sales approximately 10 percent higher than 2017.”

Vertikal Comment

There is no question about it, Terex Cranes is regaining its momentum. It still has a long way to go, but by mid 2018 we are likely to see the business regaining a sound footing, helping it move up a gear or two. It has made great strides over the past year to 18 months and seems to have a strong strategic direction now with momentum beginning to gather steam.

2018 is likely to feel a lot more positive for those employees that have struggled through the long downturn. These encouraging results are positive for the industry as a whole, as well as those with a vested interest in the business.