MCG’s backlog totalled $866m, an increase of 37% from September 30, 2005, and more than double the $340m on December 31, 2004.

Terry Growcock, Manitowoc Group’s chairman and chief executive officer, said: “Our Crane segment’s strong performance reflects steadily improving global market dynamics as well as the benefits of a broad product line.

“Demand for premium lifting solutions continues to strengthen in our key industry markets. Market indicators for crawler cranes, such as rising rental rates and improved fleet utilisation, continue to improve in North America, while our efforts at cross-leveraging our tower crane product line into North America are also showing success.

“Demand for mobile cranes is robust as global construction activity continues to ramp up in the energy, transportation, and industrial infrastructure segments.”

Growcock said that a bigger crane backlog was evident in all the company’s markets around the world.

A strategic priority for Manitowoc for 2005 was to increase crane sales and market penetration globally.

Growcock said: “The Crane segment’s record backlog of $866 million is evidence of our success in meeting this priority. We provide our global customer base with a single source for the most advanced lifting technologies in the world.”

A second strategic priority was to strengthen Manitowoc’s financial structure by focusing on cash flow and net-debt reduction.

On this, Growcock commented: “We significantly exceeded our net-debt reduction target in 2005, achieving a reduction of more than $100 million.

“This outstanding performance was driven by the cash generation provided by the Crane segment’s operating leverage as well as solid working capital management across the company.”

He said he believed the best measure of the company’s use of its capital was through Economic Value-Added (EVA). For 2005, Manitowoc’s EVA contribution improved by $24 million.

Manitowoc Group as a whole (which includes foodservice, refrigeration, and marine divisions, as well as the crane segment) reported a net sales increase of 16% to $589.3m from $507.4m for the fourth quarter of 2004.

For the full year, ended December 31, 2005, net sales increased 22% to $2.3 billion from $1.8bn in 2004. Net earnings for fiscal 2005 were $65.8m, an increase of 50% on a per share basis from the $39.1m achieved in 2004.