Manitowoc had revenue of $724.2m from sales of cranes and related equipment in 2002, a 60% rise on its 2001 crane sales, thanks to its acquisitions of Potain and Grove.

Last year was the first full 12 month accounting period that included Potain, acquired in May 2001. It also included less than half a year of sales from Grove, which was acquired in August 2002.

In the fourth quarter of 2002, crane sales were up 70% to $233.0m, up from $137.2m in 2001.

Manitowoc Crane Group’s order book stood at $133.8m at year-end.

Profitability of the crane segment was down a little for the year, and down significantly in the fourth quarter. Operating profit from cranes for the full year – before amortisation and restructuring charges – fell from 2001’s $64.3m to $61.0m. Fourth quarter earnings in 2002 were $8.2m, compared with $17.7m in fourth quarter 2001.

Parent company Manitowoc Company Inc reported a net loss for the year, hit by nearly $52m of interest payments, a $36.8m write-off due to changes in accounting for goodwill and $25.5m provision on the sale of Manitowoc Boom Trucks. These and other special items – including a $7.7m provision for restructuring the crane operations – turned what would have been $49.2m net profit for the year to 31 December 2002 into a loss of $20.5m.

Group chairman and CEO Terry Growcock said: ‘Declining demand for crawler cranes adversely affected earnings and operating margins throughout the fourth quarter. Worldwide demand for tower cranes and other lifting solutions remained strong. This somewhat offset the crawler crane decline and showed the strength of our strategy to create both geographic and product diversity. As we move into 2003, we will continue to align our crane businesses to take advantage of cross-selling opportunities as well as purchasing, operations, and distribution efficiencies. We are well on our way to achieving our goal to create one unified, world-class crane organisation to serve customers efficiently around the world.’

Looking ahead, Growcock said: ‘We believe that 2003 will begin slowly and improve modestly in the second half. We expect that the same economic and market issues that affected the construction and crane industry in 2002 will persist in 2003.’