05.11.2020

Positive third quarter signs for Manitowoc

US based crane group Manitowoc has reported a relatively positive third quarter pick up.

Starting with the nine months to the end of September total revenues were 26 percent below that of 2019 at $1.01 billion. At the same time the company posted a pre-tax loss of $11.3 million compared to a profit of $47.6 million last year.

Moving on to the third quarter, revenues were just 20.6 percent down on last year at $355.6 million, however order intake in the quarter was 10.5 percent higher than in the same period last year at $389.9 million. The backlog/order book at the end of September was $464.8 million roughly the same as this time a year ago. Pre-tax profits were $6.6 million, down 69 percent on last year.

Chief executive Aaron Ravenscroft said: “Our third quarter results were led by stronger than anticipated orders. We continue to manage our costs and production schedules tightly, and I was very pleased with our operational execution and cash generation in the period. I thank our team for their extraordinary effort in continuing to manage the headwinds due to Covid-19 while exceeding our financial expectations.”

“We ended the third quarter with nearly $400 million of liquidity. In spite of the challenging environment, we continue to invest in the future. Our new product development programs remain on track, and we have begun to invest in organic strategies to grow sales. Our balance sheet is strong, and we are prepared to pursue acquisitions once the overall economic environment stabilizes. I am confident in our long term growth opportunities and ability to increase shareholder value.”

Vertikal Comment

When all things are considered this is a very positive result from Manitowoc, not only has it faced the challenges of the pandemic, but is also suffering from the fallout from the company’s efforts to have the Trump government place tariffs on imported cranes – apart from the ones it brings in. That policy predates Ravenscroft who was only appointed in August, but he has had to deal with the anger the petition generated from many US crane rental companies. So depending on where the orders came from, the pick up will be very encouraging for Ravenscroft who takes a different view on the wisdom of the petition than his predecessor.

Manitowoc still has much to do but the third quarter results are certainly encouraging.