Rental Companies’ Buying Pause Slows Manitou in Third Quarter
Manitou posted €273 million (about U.S. $301.4 million) in the third quarter, an 8 percent decrease compared to €295 million in the third quarter of 2015. The results shows a third-quarter slowdown since for the first nine months of 2015, Manitou totaled €954 million, a
2-percent increase compared to €937 million in the same period in 2014.
Manitou’s sales in the Americas declined 9 percent in the third quarter, although it increased 19 percent for the first nine months of the year. Northern Europe dropped 11 percent in the third quarter, but still remains up 1 percent for the first nine months. The positive turnaround in the quarter came from Southern Europe where sales grew 4 percent, although still down 6 percent for the year to date.
“The business experienced a slowdown in the third quarter as a consequence of a pause in the investment activities of rental companies in the United States, a recession in the Asia-Pacific-Africa region and the impact of the crisis in Russia,” said Michel Denis, president and CEO. “The lack of visibility was accentuated by the recent market turmoil and drove purchasers to delay their investments. The Services and Solutions division continued its growth (up 5 percent during the quarter and 7 percent over the nine-month period) confirming the offers deployment in process and the progress achieved on our roadmap.
“The business activity of the last quarter will be sensitive to the agricultural seasonality in North America and to the purchasing opportunities of rental companies. The difficult business environment was also reflected in the order intake and order backlog at the end of the quarter, which leads us to expect sales growth of around 3 percent for 2015 for a confirmed recurring operating income of approximately 4.5 percent.”
Manitou, which also owns the Gehl and Mustang brands, is based in Ancenis, France, with U.S. headquarters in West Bend, Wis.
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.