Sales boost for crane manufacturers

Tadano

Tadano sales revenue for its fiscal year 2017, the twelve months ended March 31, stood at ¥173.7bn ($1.57bn), down 3.3% year-on-year. Over the same period, net profit dropped ¥2.5bn to ¥9.39bn.

Total sales of Tadano mobile cranes decreased by 9.7% from the previous year to ¥99bn. Mobile crane sales in Japan fell by 15.2% to ¥38.2bn. Outside of Japan, there was a decrease of 5.8% with sales totaling ¥60.8bn.

Sales of truck loader cranes were stable, up 0.2%, generating ¥19.68bn. Tadano’s revenue from the sales of aerial work platform increased 14.2% year-on-year to ¥24.68bn.

Net sales from other businesses, such as parts, repairs, used cranes and other products, amounted to ¥30.3bn: up 11.4% compared the previous fiscal year. Tadano said that sales of used cranes increased both in Japan and outside Japan.

For the fiscal year 2018, the manufacturer forecasts sales revenue to grow by 10.5% to ¥192bn. It anticipates a 25.7% increase in mobile cranes and 1.1% increase in truck loader cranes.

Manitowoc

The Manitowoc Company has reported first-quarter 2018 net sales of $386.1m, up 26% compared to the same period in 2017. The increase was attributed to improved crane shipments across all regions, with the US and European markets generating the majority of the increase.

First-quarter orders rose by 10% year-on-year of $536m, while backlog totaled $756.6m on March 31, 2018, up 49% from the first-quarter 2017. The company reported a net loss of $10m, in the same period last year the net loss stood at $36m.

Barry Pennypacker, president and chief executive officer of The Manitowoc Company, said: “The global crane market is reaching an inflection point, and it shows in our order rates year-to-date. However, like many capital goods companies, we are beginning to see headwinds in terms of materials inflation and supply chain challenges.

“Also, foreign currency exchange rates are putting pressure on our margins, most notably on European produced cranes that we sell in the US. We are actively managing these challenges and aggressively taking pricing actions to ensure that we deliver our full-year EBITDA guidance of $100 to $120m. We are clearly making meaningful progress in transforming Manitowoc into a leaner, more profitable crane company.”

Terex

Terex Cranes has reported crane sales of $314m in the first quarter of 2018, up 19% compared to the same period in the previous year. The manufacturer said this was due to higher demand and a favourable impact of foreign exchange rates.

Operating performance improved compared to the first quarter of last year, however our results were negatively impacted by disruptions in the company’s mobile crane factories caused by supply chain challenges. Terex said it is working closely with its suppliers to address the issues.

Indications for future growth are positive, with Terex Cranes Q1 ending backlog up 58% versus 2017.

Steve Filipov, president, Terex Cranes said: “Global crane markets were fairly stable with pockets of growth as expected. We executed well in Towers and Utilities, and we continued to roll out exciting new products including our Demag AC 300-6 all terrain crane and Terex CTT 472-20 flat top tower crane.”

Overall, Terex Corporation reported a strong start to 2018 with first quarter 2018 sales of $1.3bn, up 25% compared to the same period in 2017.

Terex group as a whole, saw sales revenue climb from $1,01bn in Q1 2017 to $1.26bn. Income from continuous operations stood at $47.6m, compared to a loss of $60.3m in the first quarter of last year.

“Terex significantly improved its first quarter earnings per share compared to last year,” said John Garrison, Terex president and CEO. “This strong financial performance reflects the improvements made to our operations and capital structure, and broad-based improvements in our global markets.”

“Aerial Work Platforms (AWP) and Materials Processing (MP) are off to a great start. Our Cranes segment improved compared to the prior year, but performed below our expectations in the quarter.”

Hiab

Load handling equipment manufacturer Hiab, subsidiary of Cargotec, has received orders totaling €307m in the first quarter of 2018, up 7% year-on-year.

“The demand for Hiab’s load handling equipment was supported in the United States and Europe by the construction activity, which remained at a good level. The demand continued to be strong in the US and accelerated in Europe,” said Hiab.

Hiab’s first quarter sales increased by 2% and totalled €276m. Service sales grew by 2% to €67m, representing 24% percent of sales.

Operating profit for Hiab in the first quarter decreased from the comparison period to €36.1m, mainly due to the weakening of the US dollar.

As a group Cargotec saw orders increasing by 1% in the first quarter of 2018, reaching €863m, while sales dropped by 2% to €773m.

Palfinger

The Palfinger Group’s revenue stood at €394.2m in the first quarter of 2018, 8.9% higher than the same period of the previous year.

The Land segment’s revenue increased by 13.6% year on year to €337.8m.

The growth achieved in the Land segment was based on the significant expansion of business in the regions EMEA and Americas. In Europe, the acquisition of the Danish distribution partner Palfinger Danmark AS, which took place at the end of January 2017, generated positive momentum as well.

In North America, Palfinger recorded “pleasing increases” in business in recent months. “In Asia, particularly in China, the good partnership with Sany has proved to be the foundation for continued business expansion. In Russia/CIS, local value creation facilitated additional growth in the first quarter of 2018, despite the challenging economic environment,” the manufacturer said. 

In the first quarter of 2018, the Sea segment’s revenue decreased to 56.4m, which corresponds to a decline of 12.7%.