Operating profit for the nine month period was $74.5m, compared with $75.3m for the first nine months of 1999.
Net sales in the third quarter were $232.7m ($242.5m for the third quarter 1999) and operating profit was $25.0m ($22.6m in 1999).
Terex said that the third quarter results “were affected by unfavourable foreign exchange comparisons, the continued softness in hydraulic mobile cranes and an approximate $5m decline in aerial work platform sales, a business Terex de-emphasised in late-1999 with the closure of its Milwaukee facility.”
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, Lifting revenues would have been higher than the third quarter of 1999, the company said. The European lifting business posted improved performance, driven by the impact of the Company’s 1999 acquisitions and higher sales of all-terrain cranes, tower cranes and telescopic material handlers.
Terex Lifting president Fil Filipov said: “Finding ways to develop and grow our business profitably and improve our market penetration in the Lifting markets continues to be our strategy. We were able to partially offset the softness in orders from major customers with new customers. Early this year, we initiated a new aftermarket program designed to provide faster and better service to our customers. This Product Support-Plus program, which created 30 mobile service centres in the United States and Europe, has now been extended to both Canada and Latin America. Now that we have established a market and cost leadership position in the lifting industry, we are accelerating our new product development program in order to continue to grow with our customers.”
Group sales for Terex Corp, Terex Lifting’s parent company, were down 4.1% to $475.1m in the third quarter but up 18.6% for the nine month period to $1.62bn. Profit before tax was $80m for the quarter (1999: $31m) and $147.7m for the nine month period (1999: $88.9m).
