Net sales for the year were up 163%, to $106.9m, from $40.7m. The leap in sales was driven by the first full year of revenues from Manitex and Manitex LiftKing, acquired during 2006. On a pro-forma basis, assuming the Manitex brands had been part of the company throughout 2006, the company says it would have recorded sales growth of 19%.
Manitex boom trucks was acquired in the middle of 2006, and LiftKing in the last quarter of that year, so comparisons between 2006 and 2007 were strongly effected by the new contributions to revenues and expenses from the two brands. Over the year, the company increased gross margins from 14.2% in 2006 to 18.6% in 2007.
Manitex boom trucks contributed to the company’s earnings throughout the last two quarters of 2006, and LiftKing was fully integrated into the company by the last month of 2006. Just comparing the last quarter of the two years, the company recorded an EBITDA increase of $700,000, from $1.3m to $2m.
The company’s backlog has fallen recently from $59m to $45.1m. Cranes Today asked chief operating officer Andrew Rooke about this. Rooke explained, “Entering into 2007, the level of backlog was exceedingly high. This should be seen as a return to normal levels.” One area of concern for this sector has been the sale of smaller cranes to residential construction users. However, Rooke said, “We’ve been fortunate that while our product range includes smaller cranes, we’ve focussed on the higher end of the market: industrial and oil and gas users, rather than residential construction.” Veri-Tek launched the largest crane in its range in the second quarter of 2007, a 50t telescopic crane. So far, the company has sold 70 units of this model.
David Langevin, chairman and CEO of Veri-Tek, commented, “2007 was an exciting year of transformation for our company. Our financial performance showed marked improvement as we took steps to refocus our business exclusively on the manufacture of specialised lifting equipment, strengthen our balance sheet and key ratios, and streamline our operations. We were extremely gratified to see that our sales objectives were met, and particularly with the continued strength in our Manitex boom truck product line, highlighted by over 70 orders received during the year for our new 50-ton crane, which we introduced in the second quarter of the year. Our gross profit margin benefited from the favourable product mix shift, as both the 50-ton and the 45-ton cranes generate a higher gross margin than our other boom trucks.”
