28.07.2023

Manitou - sales up orders down

French telehandler and aerial lift manufacturer Manitou, has posted a strong set of results for the first half, but order intake fell sharply.

Total revenues for the six months to the end of June were €1.4 billion, up 33 percent on the same period last year.
New product sales improved 39 percent to €1.2 billion, while services and solutions increased five percent to €200 million.

Sales growth geographically was as follows:
Southern Europe - €472 million +29%
Northern Europe - €509 million +32%
The Americas - €304 million + 52%
Asia Pacific - €117 million +13%
Net income for the period more than doubled to €62.5 million.

Moving on to the second quarter

Total revenues increased 21 percent to €736 million, made up of €639 million of new equipment sales 25 percent higher than tin the same quarter of 2022, while sales of services - mostly replacement parts - improved two percent to €97 million.
The geographic breakdown was as follows:
Southern Europe - €244 million +11%
Northern Europe - €264 million +19%
The Americas - €168 million + 51%
Asia Pacific - €60 million +13%

Order intake for the quarter plummeted from €791 million to 287 million, leaving the order book at the end of June at €3.06 billion down from €3.6 billion this time last year, a fall of 15%.

New AWP investment
The company has also announced plans to invest €60 million in a new welding centre adjoining its main aerial work platform factories in Candé to help secure supplies for future growth. It expects it to be completed in 2025. The investment is in addition to the €460 million it is spending on its ‘New Horizons 2025’ plan.

Chief executive Michel Denis said: "With an increase in revenues of 33% compared with the first half of 2022 and a near doubling of recurring operating profit, the first half of 2023 marks the group's comeback to very positive growth and performance. This record level of activity is the result of our high production levels, achieved in a context of better operational fluidity. Sales are increasing in all sectors and geographical areas."

“In terms of financial performance, the fast improvement in our profitability is the result of order book management, both in terms of price adjustments and order flow management, the slowdown in inflation on raw materials, and relentless action to raise our profitability. The outlook for our markets is becoming less visible. In the construction sector, the slowdown we observed in Germany and the UK is gradually spreading across the European continent, while growth opportunities continue in other geographical areas. The suspension of order intake on certain product lines has contributed to the decline in the order book, which remains very deep.”

“For 2023, we expect revenue growth of around 20% with a recurring operating profit for 2023 to be over 5.5% of revenues, compared with 3.6% for 2022."

Vertikal Comment

Another company with strong numbers, although the order intake will be bit of a worry, however, this is probably good news given how large the order book is, and maybe more related to dealers reducing inventory or more likely not placing so many forward orders on spec. A big order book usually fuels phantom orders where buyers, especially dealers take production slots but will then cancel them on mass if business plummets. Better to have a measured reduction in order book than a meltdown.

The bottom line is that this is a very good result from Manitou