The Manitowoc Co. reported sales of $955.7 million for the third quarter of 2012, an increase of 2.2 percent compared to sales of $935.4 million in the third quarter of 2011. The sales increase was primarily driven by a 4.9-percent increase in Crane segment sales.
On a GAAP basis, the company reported net earnings of $22.2 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the third quarter versus earnings of $23.7 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2011.
“While third-quarter results fell short of our expectations in some key areas, we also had several notable positives despite lingering uncertainty and continued pressure in the global macroeconomic environment,” said Glen Tellock, Manitowoc’s chairman and CEO. “We are focused on positioning the company for long-term improvement in profitability, even in the face of modest growth. This includes enhancing our global manufacturing network, improving operational efficiency across the organization, and driving continuous product innovation. Looking to the fourth quarter, we expect to see a sequential improvement over our third-quarter results and remain committed to achieving our full-year 2012 objectives.”
Third-quarter 2012 net sales in the Crane segment were $555.1 million, up from $529.4 million in the third quarter of 2011, driven primarily by continued growth in the Americas region, which was offset by lower demand in Europe and Asia. The 4.9-percent sales growth was achieved in spite of a negative $29.4 million impact from currency exchange, coupled with supply chain disruptions, which are expected to improve in the fourth quarter.
Crane segment operating earnings for the third quarter of 2012 were $26.5 million, compared to $26.1 million in the same period last year. This resulted in an operating margin of 4.8 percent for the third quarter of 2012, down from 4.9 percent in the same period in 2011. Third-quarter 2012 earnings were affected by lower sales in EMEA and China, customer financing reserves in Asia, plus ongoing investments in new product engineering, Brazil ramp-up efforts, and ERP implementation.
Crane segment backlog totaled $976 million as of Sept. 30, a 25.9-percent increase from $775 million in the prior-year quarter. Third-quarter 2012 orders of $582 million were 22.3-percent higher than the third quarter of 2011.
“The Crane order increase was particularly noteworthy, given that the third quarter is typically seasonally soft,” Tellock said. “Orders were driven by demand across multiple product categories, including rough-terrain cranes and all-terrain cranes, as well as strengthening demand in smaller-capacity crawler cranes. However, the unfavorable macroeconomic environment continues to impact many of our European and Asian markets, as well as our tower crane and large crawler crane product lines.”
The Manitowoc Co. is a maker of crawler cranes, tower cranes, and mobile cranes for the heavy construction industry, as well as commercial foodservice equipment.
