The company said the year-on-year decrease was primarily due to continued weak demand for the company’s products in North America and the Middle East. It highlighted that the decrease was partially offset by year-on-year growth in the European market, mainly due to continued strength in residential and commercial construction trends and new product introductions.
The Manitowoc company reported a net loss of $33.4m in the fourth quarter, while generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) operating loss stood at $23.8m. The operating loss figure included $6.3m of restructuring costs mainly related to plant relocation and severance expenses.
Barry Pennypacker, president and chief executive officer of The Manitowoc Company, said: “During the fourth-quarter we experienced demand levels consistent with prior year trends with sequential improvement in revenue as well as incoming orders. Our mobile orders in the Americas and the Middle East were affected by continued low rental rates, weakness in used equipment prices and continued low oil prices.
“Our tower crane business continued to perform as expected, mainly attributable to positive market sentiment in Europe complemented by our new product introductions. While the global crane market continues to be dynamic, we remain cautiously optimistic about the long-term market fundamentals.
“We remain committed to achieving our long-term goals of double-digit operating margins by 2020, investing appropriately for market growth, continuing to be a market leader in innovation and increasing the velocity in all our business processes. Executing on these strategic priorities will enable us to be the market leader in lifting technology as judged by our customers, shareholders and employees.”
