Manitou sales slip

Sales at Manitou dropped by 7% in the third quarter to €273 million, compared to the same period last year, buoyed by a 2% sales increase overall in the nine months leading up to the end of September.

Order intake also dropped in the third quarter to €189 million, from €207 million in the third quarter of 2014. Order backlog at the end of the nine month period was €253 million, compared to €268 million at the same time last year.

With third quarter sales of €168 million, the Material Handling and Access Division (MHA) reported a decrease in sales of 8% compared to the same period in 2014, and 2% over the nine month period.

According to the company, Southern Europe benefitted from a gradual improvement, while Northern Europe experienced a pause in business activity and the effects of the crisis in Russia.

In the APAM – rest of the world – the division also experienced difficulties due to a slowdown in the Asian economies and the sluggish mining sector.

Overall, the division saw a reduction in the construction sector over the nine month period due to the wait-and-see attitude of rental companies, it said.

The Compact Equipment Products division (CEP) reported sales of €50 million, a decrease of 19%, and an increase of 10% over the nine months. “The North American business was affected by this summer's financial disturbances which resulted in a drastic reduction in the rental companies’ business activity,” said the company in a statement. In the other regions, the division suffered from the same issues as the MHA division.

The Services and Solutions Division (S&S) saw a sales increase of 5% to €55 million and an increase of 7% for the first nine months. Growth in the third quarter occurred particularly in Northern Europe.

Michel Denis, president and CEO said, "The business experienced a slowdown in the third quarter as a consequence of a pause in the investment activities of rental companies in the United States, a recession in the Asia-Pacific-Africa region and the impact of the crisis in Russia.

He added, “The business activity of the last quarter will be sensitive to the agricultural seasonality in North America and to the purchasing opportunities of rental companies. The difficult business environment was also reflected in the order intake and order backlog at the end of the quarter which leads us to expect sales growth of around 3% for 2015 for a confirmed recurring operating income of approximately 4.5%."