JLG, the access division of Oshkosh Corp., posted $1.02 billion in net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter, a 4.2-percent decrease compared to the same period last year. The decrease in sales was the result of lower sales volume in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Access equipment segment operating income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 decreased 0.3 percent to $126.5 million, or 12.4 percent of sales, compared to $126.9 million or 12 percent of sales in the year-ago quarter. The decrease in operating income was primarily because of the impact of lower sales volume and higher marketing spending, largely offset by favorable regional mix and lower freight costs.
For the full year, access equipment revenue totaled $4,079.7 million compared to $3,776.8 in the previous fiscal year, an 8-percent increase.
Oshkosh Corp. as a whole posted $2,195.7 million for the fiscal fourth quarter compared to $2,057 million a year ago, a 6.7-percent increase. For the full year period, Oshkosh reported $8,382 million compared to $7,705.5 million in the previous fiscal year, an 8.8-percent increase.
Sales of telehandlers for the fiscal fourth quarter were $307 million compared to $284.3 million in the year-ago frame, an 8-percent increase. Aerial work platform sales decreased from $555.7 million to $479 million, a 16-percent slide.
For the full year, AWP sales dropped from $2,017.2 million a year ago, to $1,944.4, a 3.6-percent decrease. Telehandlers sales increased from $948.9 million to $1,254.9 million, a 32.2-percent hike.
“Our access equipment team delivered strong results in the face of moderating demand in their key rental equipment markets,” said Oshkosh Corp. president and CEO Wilson Jones. “Looking ahead, I am confident in our team’s ability to navigate through changing market conditions in our access equipment segment and position Oshkosh Corporation to continue to deliver strong results. Our rental equipment customers in North America and Europe are taking a cautious approach to capital expenditures, which we believe will lead to lower, but still historically strong, sales and earnings in the access equipment segment in fiscal 2020.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.