Manitowoc Q4 Adj Profit Tops View, But Revenues Miss

(RTTNews) - Manufacturer of foodservice equipment, cranes and ships Manitowoc Co., Inc. (MTW) reported Friday a profit for the fourth quarter that declined from last year, hurt by higher charges and a revenue decline.

Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations topped analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues missed their estimates by a whisker. The company also provided segment revenue growth guidance for the full-year 2014.

"Margin improvement across the enterprise was driven by our strategic initiatives, including new product introductions, controlling costs, and enhancing efficiencies," Chairman and CEO Glen Tellock in a statement.

The Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based company posted net earnings of $20.9 million or $0.15 per share for the fourth quarter, lower than $34.5 million or $0.26 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Earnings from continuing operations for the quarter declined to $24.1 million or $0.18 per share from $36.7 million or $0.27 per share last year.

Excluding special items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations for the quarter was $63.9 million or $0.47 per share, compared to $36.7 million or $0.27 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.34 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimate typically excludes special items.

Net sales for the quarter decreased 2.1 percent to $1.10 billion from $1.13 billion in the same quarter last year, and missed fourteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $1.11 billion by a whisker.

The sales drop was attributable to a 7.9 percent decline in crane and related products segment sales to $704.9 million from last year.

However, foodservice equipment segment sales grew 10.0 percent to $399.5 million from last year, driven by continued growth in the Americas and EMEA regions, as well as sales from new product rollouts.

Operating earnings for the quarter grew to $98.5 million from $78.0 million in the same quarter last year, and gross profit was $261.6 million, up from $249.0 million in the prior-year quarter amid margin improvement in the foodservice equipment segment.

For fiscal 2013, Manitowoc reported net income of $141.8 million or $1.05 per share, higher than $101.7 million or $0.76 per share in the prior year. Earnings from continuing operations for the year increased to $154.8 million or $1.14 per share from $109.7 million or $0.82 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $195.9 million or $1.45 per share, compared to $110.7 million or $0.83 per share in the year ago.

Net sales for the full year increased 3.4 percent to $4.05 billion from $3.91 billion in the previous year.

Street was looking for full-year 2013 earnings of $1.26 per share on revenues of $4.05 billion.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2013, Manitowoc expects crane revenue growth to be modest and foodservice revenue growth to be in the mid-single digit percentage. Street is looking for full-year 2013 revenues of $4.19 billion.

"As we look ahead into 2014, we are confident in our abilities to significantly improve profitability, even with modest growth. We remain focused on directing resources to those areas that will deliver the highest returns on our investments, which includes continuing to prioritize funding our growth, cost reduction and process improvement initiatives, as well as debt repayment," Tellock added.

MTW closed Thursday's regular trading session at $24.76, up $0.46 or 1.89% on a volume of 3.98 million shares. The stock gained a further $2.24 or 9.05% in after-hours trading.