JLG Industries last week announced consolidated revenues of $494 million and earnings per share of 52 cents for its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 29, 2007, a 40 percent year-over-year revenue increase. The revenue increase was led by a 43-percent increase in the United States, along with a 31-percent increase internationally.

JLG reported net income of $27.4 million compared with net income of $7.5 million in the previous year’s second quarter.

“Our revenues reached a new record for the quarter and, more importantly, our earnings improved dramatically compared to last year,” said Bill Lasky, chairman, president and CEO of the McConnellsburg, Pa.-based access equipment manufacturer. “The continued strength in demand for our products is reflected in our order board, which reached $1 billion by the end of the quarter, a 20 percent sequential increase from $849 million last quarter and over three times the $290 million level of last year. Our previous pricing actions and cost-reduction activity have substantially caught up with the increases in commodities, especially steel, experienced last year. We continue to monitor pressure on product costs and work to offset the impact but remain prepared to increase pricing further if conditions warrant.”

Lasky also touted the company’s sale of its New Philadelphia, Ohio, plant and the reopening of facilities in Bedford, Pa., and Orville, Ohio, along with capacity investments the company is making for its alliance with Caterpillar, as evidence it can “support significantly higher volume in essentially the same manufacturing footprint beginning in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.”

For the first half of fiscal 2006, consolidated revenues were $972 million, a 47 percent year-over-year increase. Net income was $55.3 million, or $1.05 per share, compared with a loss of $1.2 million, or $.03 per share, for the same period last year.

“The continuing strong demand for our products reinforces our belief that 2006 will be another good year for JLG,” said Jim Woodward, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “Supply chain performance improvement and our own manufacturing capacity expansion will position us to better meet customer demand and optimize capacity utilization. We now expect to spend approximately $40 million in fiscal 2006 on capital additions including capacity expansion and the Caterpillar alliance.

“Despite the impact of the $48 million sales volume reduction in our second half associated with the sale of the Gradall excavator product line, we project our full-year revenue growth will be at the upper end of our previously announced range 20 to 25 percent over fiscal 2005. Excluding the one-time pre-tax gain on the excavator transaction of approximately $13.1 million, we now expect earnings per share to be in a range from $2.35 to $2.45, up from our previous guidance of $2.15 to $2.25.