Manitowoc Reports Solid Q3 Sales

November 11, 2008 – Manitowoc, Wis.-based The Manitowoc Company reported financial results from continuing operations for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008. Compared with the third quarter of 2007, net sales of $1.1 billion and operating earnings of $140.6 million increased 19.6 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively. Earnings per diluted share was $0.80 before special items compared with net earnings of $0.66 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2007. Including special items (which included a hedging loss of $198.4 million before taxes, or $0.99 per diluted share after taxes, as described in the following paragraph), the company reported a third-quarter 2008 net loss of $26.1 million, or $0.20 per diluted share.

"Highlights of the third quarter included strong performance by our Crane business which continued to benefit from long-term global infrastructure and energy development projects, despite ongoing softness in some residential and commercial construction markets, as well as challenges in customer and project financing,” said Glen Tellock, president and CEO.

 

Tellock said the benefits achieved through the acquisition and integration of Potain and Grove into Manitowoc Crane Group should continue to enable the company to remain a leading source of lifting solutions.

 

Third-quarter 2008 Crane segment sales totaled $991 million, an increase of 22 percent from the third quarter of 2007. Operating earnings for the latest quarter were $139 million, a 24-percent increase from the third quarter of 2007. Crane backlog at Sept. 30, 2008, was $3.3 billion, nearly 26 percent higher than the third quarter of 2007 and down slightly from the second quarter of 2008. The sequential decline in Manitowoc's crane backlog from the second quarter of 2008 reflected slowing demand for tower cranes in Europe, and a delay in opening the 2010 order book until material price forecasts and customer pricing arrangements can be finalized.

 

"Demand for our high-capacity crawler and mobile telescopic cranes remains strong in markets where investment in large infrastructure and power generation projects continues,” Tellock said. “These markets include the Americas, the Middle East, India, and Asia. Demand has softened in China consistent with the anticipated 'post-Olympic' pause in construction projects. However, the availability and cost of financing in Europe, Russia, and Africa began impacting the demand for tower cranes during the quarter. Accordingly, we have taken prudent measures to maximize the performance of the Crane segment during this period of economic turbulence. These measures include rebalancing the production schedules at our factories, eliminating temporary workers in certain European factories, internalizing a variety of previously outsourced manufacturing activities, instituting numerous SG&A cost reductions and deferrals, and accelerating the ramp-up of lean manufacturing initiatives."

 

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