Revenues at Manitowoc Cranes continues to slip, but order intake has boosted the year end backlog by 28 percent.
Revenues for the full year were $2.3 billion eight percent down on 2013, mainly due to lower sales of Rough Terrain cranes and boom trucks. Operating profits for the 12 months were $163.9 million – 25 percent lower than in the previous year.
Looking at the fourth quarter revenues declined six percent to $663.2 million for the same reasons as the full year numbers, but also compounded by Euro revenues translating into fewer dollars, thanks to the weak Euro and strong dollar. The order book at the end of the year was 28 percent higher than at the end of 2013, and up over three percent on the quarter.
Chief executive Glen Tellock said: “Uncertainty among our customers remains at the forefront of their purchasing decisions. Ongoing global softness in the Rough-Terrain and boom truck markets, coupled with declining oil prices, created a challenging environment for the segment. However, we continue to focus on the areas within our control, such as cost optimisation strategies which include lean initiatives and capturing savings through sourcing and purchasing initiatives. As we enter 2015, we anticipate that worldwide crane demand levels will remain very challenging in the near-term, but we are encouraged by our improved order intake, a strengthening backlog, and the strong market acceptance of our VPC crawler crane technology. As a result, we continue to position the business to capture the upside for significant cyclical growth with key investments to drive additional new product innovation, speed of new product introductions, and aftermarket product support initiatives.”
The group as a whole, which includes the Food service business reported revenues of $3.89 billion, five percent lower than in 2013. While pre-tax profits dropped 25 percent to $169.4 million. The fourth quarter saw revenue growth but a more significant fall in profits. The company also announced that it is now looking at splitting into two publicly traded companies by 2016