Sales down again at Manitowoc
By Alex Dahm10 August 2017
Net sales at crane manufacturer Manitowoc in the first six months of 2017 were US$ 700 million, down 20.9 per cent from the $885 million in the first six months of 2016.
Most of the decline in sales was attributed to fewer crawler cranes delivered in the Americas and to the impact of lower oil and gas prices where lower numbers of rough terrain cranes were shipped in the Americas and the Middle East.
In the most recent quarter net sales were $394.6 million, down 13.8 % from the $457.7 million in the same quarter of 2016. Operating income in the first six months of 2017 was a loss of $ -13.8 million whereas in the most recent quarter it was a positive contribution of $9.9 million. Net income from continuing operations was $ 700,000 in the latest quarter, against a loss of $ -5.0 million in the first quarter a year earlier. These are all improvements in the most recent period over the previous one.
Orders in the second quarter of 2017 were $379.5 million, including the first part of a U.S. Army contract. This was up 9 % from the second quarter of 2016. Order backlog at 30 June was $491.2 million, up 25 % on the $393.5 million in the second quarter of 2016.
Commenting on the results, Barry Pennypacker, Manitowoc president and CEO, said, “We are very pleased with our second-quarter performance as we made considerable progress in consolidating our manufacturing footprint and reducing the cost of our organisational structure.”
Pennypacker continued, “In the second-quarter we have seen order improvement in most product categories except lattice boom crawler cranes. We have experienced pockets of improved demand in specific markets like the Permian and Eagle Ford basins in North America. European markets continue to experience moderate growth, mainly in residential and non-residential construction markets, partly offset by continued weakness in the Middle-East.”
For the full year 2017 Manitowoc forecasts revenue to be down by between 5 and 7 %, year on year and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, etc. (EBITDA) of between $59 and $69 million.
