06.05.2026

Decent first quarter for Manitowoc

Manitowoc Crane, the owner of the Grove, Potain, National Crane and MGX brands, has reported higher first quarter revenues and a strong pickup in order intake/backlog.

Revenues for the three months to the end of March were $494.6 million, up 4.9 percent on the same period last year. Revenues from services - non new crane sales - totalled $165.9 million, up 3.2 percent on the year.

Order intake in the quarter improved 5.8 percent to $645.7 million, with a surge in new orders for Potain tower cranes.

Backlog/order book at the end of the first quarter of $939.9 million, a 17,9 percent increase on this time last year, when the backlog dipped 18 percent.

The company made a Pre-tax loss for the quarter of $9.3 million compared to an $8.8 million loss for the first quarter of 2025, due to higher engineering, sales & admin expenses along with marginally higher interest costs, partly offset by a reduction in other expenses.

Chief executive Aaron Ravenscroft said: “The Manitowoc team delivered first quarter results in line with expectations. Backlog reached $940 million, our highest level in two years, reflecting strong demand for our products. Under our Cranes+50 strategy, non‑new machine sales rose 8% on a trailing 12 month basis to a record $696 million. In addition, customer feedback to our new products and aftermarket offerings at the ConExpo trade show was outstanding.”

“Backlog remains strong, orders are healthy, and customer sentiment continues to improve. In addition, our Cranes+50 strategy is driving more stable, higher margin recurring revenue, which sets a strong foundation for our long term success.”

Vertikal Comment

While a negative bottom line is never a good look, Manitowoc is making steady transformational progress. It would be easy, yet disastrous, to cut investment areas such as new product development and engineering in order to satisfy some of the big short-term oriented institutional shareholders for an easier quarterly conference call.

The new 700 tonne All Terrain shown at Conexpo includes some really innovative developments, and should be a winner in what is a rapidly growing market. Add to this the signs of an improving tower crane market, and the future looks bright. But add in the investment in services and support through the MGX subsidiary, and it also looks as though it will also be more stable.

Managing a longer term strategy with a publicly quoted company against a family owned market leader is no easy feat. But Manitowoc is on track to achieve that. It will be very interesting to see how the full year pans out.