Genie shines for Terex in mixed Q1

Terex’s revenues for the first quarter of the year were down -5.3% on the same period last year to US$ 1.72 billion. However, the company saw a +7.2% improvement in operating profit to US$ 68.4 million.

The undisputed star for Terex in the first quarter was its Aerial Work Platform (AWP) division, which products under the Genie brand. Its revenues increased +21.3% to US$ 509 million in the first quarter, and with an operating income of US$ 72.4 million, it was by far the company’s most profitable division. There was also an improvement for Terex Cranes, where revenues were up +3.4% to US$ 471 million in the quarter, and profits increase +150% to US$ 32.5 million.

However, sales for the company’s Construction division were down -23% to US$ 280 million and the unit made a loss of US$ 13.1 million. There was a similar story at Terex’s Materials Handling and Port Solutions (MHPS) business, where revenues were down -22.6% to US$ 339 million, and a loss of US$ 29.1 million was recorded. The company’s Materials Processing business also lost ground, with revenues falling -8.9% to US$ 154 million, although it still achieved a profit of US$ 11.7 million.

Commenting on the results, Terex chairman and CEO Ron DeFeo said, “Our business performance was mixed in the first quarter. We are encouraged by the performance of our AWP business, which continues to reflect the strong end-market dynamics of the rental channel, particularly in North America. Our Cranes and Materials Processing businesses also positively contributed to our results and performed generally as expected. However, we have seen significant global revenue shortfalls in our MHPS business, with particular weakness in Europe and India. Our Construction business is also reflecting challenges of a less certain customer base in Europe.”

The company says it expects to achieve revenues of US$ 7.9 billion to US$ 8.3 billion for 2013 as a whole.