Still, earlier gains made it an extremely strong year for the company. Manitowoc reported total net crane sales for 2008 of $3.88bn, up 20% over the 2007 full year. For the total year of 2008, crane operating earnings were $555.6m, up 18% over 2007.
Crane segment backlog totaled $1.9 billion at December 31, 2008, a decrease of 34 percent from the $2.9 billion backlog at December 31, 2007.
“As we stated in our January 8 announcement, we are experiencing a weakening demand in the Crane segment, and we estimate a decline in crane sales of approximately 20 percent in 2009,” said Manitowoc president and CEO Glen Tellock. “Although demand for lighter lift capacity cranes has softened globally, demand for higher capacity cranes in the U.S. and Asia remains relatively stable. However, demand in Europe and the Middle East has weakened considerably compared to the peak we experienced in the first half of 2008.”
In its quarterly reports, it stated that the cost of the crane segment restructuring over the 2008 calendar year was $110,000.
It said that it anticipates total crane group revenue of $3.2bn in 2009, with operating margins in the ‘low double-digits’ for the year.
