It was the most profitable quarter in the company’s year, and also showed the greatest growth compared with the same period in 2006.
In total the company made 3.245bn in crane sales in 2007, compared with 2.175bn in 2006, an increase of 49%. Including the company’s foodservice business, it sold more than $4bn in 2007.
But with the success comes even longer delays for new cranes. At December 31, backlog totalled $2.9bn, up 8% from September 2007 and up 88% compared with December 31, 2006.
“As shown by our growth in sales and backlog, demand for our full line of lifting solutions continues to be strong on a global basis,” said CEO Glen Tellock. “Demand in emerging markets is especially strong, and our new manufacturing facilities in India and Slovakia have begun production to help meet this demand. Our discussions with customers coupled with independent market research all indicate that demand for lift solutions will continue to be strong at least through the end of the decade. Demand for civil infrastructure, new energy and petrochemical capacity, and urban development all point to strong longer-term demand for our line of crawler, tower, and mobile hydraulic cranes. Our minimal exposure to the U.S. housing market reinforces our belief that we have ample opportunity for continued growth.”
Tellock added that the company is planning more strategic acquisitions, as well as internal growth initiatives. He said that the company is planning to introduce 50 new products, although that figure includes its foodservice business.
