Manitex International, Bridgeview, Ill., reports in its first quarter 2012 results that net revenues rose 35 percent to a record $42.8 million, compared to the prior year's quarter of $31.7 million and 17 percent compared to the fourth quarter 2011 revenues of $36.6 million. The company’s net income of $1.3 million or $0.11 per share increased 183 percent compared to the prior year's quarter of $0.4 million and $0.04 per share. EBITDA increased 65 percent for the first quarter of 2012 to $3.4 million equivalent to 7.9 percent of sales compared to $2.1 million or 6.5 percent for the first quarter of 2011.
Consolidated backlog at March 31, 2012 rose 179 percent from the comparable quarter of 2011 to $133.3 million. Compared to the backlog at Dec. 31, 2011, the increase was 59 percent or $49.6 million in the quarter.
David Langevin, chairman and CEO, said: "Our first quarter's results reflect the operating leverage in our model, with the bottom line growing faster than our top line. In the first quarter, we began to benefit from a planned output expansion that is taking place at our Manitex boom truck operations. We expect to continue to increase output in each quarter during 2012 in response to the robust demand in the niche markets we serve, with particular strength coming from the North American energy field. The growth in our backlog further underscores the health of our business, and speaks well to our strategy of developing products that serve high growth markets."
Continuing strong demand for Manitex boom truck products, particularly from the energy and power line construction sectors, was responsible for approximately 60 percent of the increase in revenue. For these sectors, the higher tonnage and higher reach boom trucks represent the principal product in demand, complemented by more specialized mid-range capacity units. The remaining increase in year over year revenues was generated by Load King trailers, driven by strong end user demand in the energy sector, and the equipment distribution segment due to improved demand for used equipment and rough terrain cranes.
Material-handling products were slightly lower than the comparable period as lower military and governmental sales were only partially offset by increased sales of CVS container-handling equipment. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, the increase in revenues was 17 percent driven by planned increases in output to support the demand for Manitex product which accounted for almost 70 percent of the increase.
The 35 percent year over year improvement in revenue resulted in an increase in gross profit of $2.2 million, which partially offset additional expenditures for R&D of $0.3 million and SG&A of $0.5 million. The company remains committed to specific R&D projects that it believes will generate additional profitable growth opportunities towards the end of the year and in 2013, and continues to invest in these.
The increase in SG&A reflects the impact of increased sales related costs from expansion of Manitex’s sales organization, increased performance-related compensation, higher depreciation expense, and a limited amount of restructuring costs. The increase for the quarter however remained under control and as a percent of revenue, SG&A expense declined by 2.8 to 12.6 percent of revenues compared to 15.4 percent for the first quarter of 2011.
Andrew Rooke, Manitex International president and chief operating officer, said: "Our first quarter output expansion was in line with our expectations and provided a sequential quarterly increase of 17 percent in revenues allowing us to report a company record, in quarterly sales. Our planning and activities in this regard are ongoing, and we are moving steadily to effect further production increases that may well enable us to convert a higher percentage of our $133 million backlog into sales on a quarterly basis. At the same time, control of costs has allowed the benefit of these revenues increases to flow through to EBITDA, which at $3.4 million was another record and represented nearly 8 percent of sales. We continue to effectively manage our liquidity and ability to fund our growth, and expect that our balance sheet ratios will remain in good condition, and we will start to make further debt repayments during the year."
Langevin said Manitex expects its sales and profits to improve steadily throughout 2012. “Boom truck bookings are now taking us into 2013 deliveries, which coupled with our leveraged financial model, should provide us with the opportunity to deliver another year of growth and solid returns for our shareholders next year,” he added. “Any improvement in the current economic environment with respect to our served markets would naturally add further to our optimism."
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