31.07.2009

Bronto up 16%

Finnish based truck mounted lift producer Bronto has reported half year revenues of $74 million, an increase of almost 16 percent on the same period last year. Order intake during the period however, plunged to $42 million from $101 million last year.

Operating profit for the six months jumped substantially from £3.9 million last year to $7.3 million this year, an increase of over 87 percent. The company’s order book as of the end of June was £107 million, down by more than 50 percent.

For the second quarter, order intake continued to slow, falling from $43 million to $21 million. However revenues remained stable rising marginally to $41.5 million, while profits grew by a more modest 53 percent to $4.9 million.

Higher profits are due to the fact that the expanded plant is more efficient and items previously outsourced are now built in-house. Bronto’s owner, Federal Signal, did not fare as well as Bronto, with revenues down 13 percent to $394 million, while operating income fell 57 percent to $7.7 million.

Vertikal Comment

What a fantastic result from Bronto? The company had built up an order book by the end of last year that many thought was excessive, leading to extended deliveries etc.

However the completion of the plant expansion and more efficient working practices has led to this excellent result.

For sure the orders have stopped rolling in at the same pace for the company’s new products, as rental companies age their fleet’s The strong order book and current order intake will allow Bronto to maintain its current performance until at least the second half of 2010, by which time we hope that the economy will be well on its way to a recovery.