Manitowoc Cuts FY Food-service Revenue Guidance; Warns On Q1 Sales

(RTTNews) - Crane and food-service equipment maker Manitowoc Co Inc (MTW) on Thursday cut its food-service segment revenue guidance for fiscal 2015, citing reduced capex spending by large chains as well as cost issues related to the launch of its KitchenCare operations.

The company also provided weak revenue guidance for the first quarter and said it expects to incur pre-tax loss from continuing operations for the period.

Following the announcement, Manitowoc shares slid 4 percent in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

For the full year 2015, the company now expects food-service segment revenue to be about flat; earlier it expected the segment to grow in the mid single-digit percentage.

The company still expects food-service segment operating margins to improve in the mid-teen percentage range, and also reaffirmed the remainder of its outlook for the year.

For the first quarter, Manitowoc expects enterprise revenue of about $752 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect revenue of $835.32 million for the quarter.

In the first quarter of last year, the company reported enterprise revenue of $850 million.

The company expects first-quarter pre-tax loss from continuing operations of $9.5 million, compared with earnings of $8.6 million a year ago.

Manitowoc said it is on track to separate its cranes and food-service businesses, expected in the first quarter of 2016.

MTW closed Thursday at $21.76, down $0.69 or 3.07%, on a volume of 1.7 million shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock dropped $0.91 or 4.18% at $20.85.