Terex posted net sales of $2,055.1 million in the second quarter of 2014, compared to $1,861.5 million in the second quarter of 2013, a 10.4-percent leap. Income from operations was $160.9 million in the second quarter, compared to $83.5 million a year ago, a 92.7-percent jump. Income from continuing operations was $87.8 million, compared to $20.4 million a year ago.
For the first six months, net sales totaled $3,709.7 million, compared to $3.515.2 million a year ago, a 5.5-percent hike.
North America and Europe led the way, and the company’s aerial work platform segment was again a leading driver.
“Our results for the second quarter and first six months of the year were mixed both from a business and geographical perspective,” said Ron DeFeo, Terex chairman and CEO. “Our Aerial Work Platform segment had a strong quarter, but margins were slightly lower than a year ago, due to product mix and planned investments in new product development and manufacturing footprint. We expect this dynamic to continue through the remainder of the year, although on increasing sales versus the prior year. Our Cranes segment is making progress, as bookings were roughly equal to net sales during the quarter and the order entry run rate was 12 percent above the prior year level on a year-to-date basis.
“Our Construction and Material Handling & Port Solutions segments both delivered quarters roughly in-line with expectations, while the Materials Processing segment had a more challenging quarter from a sales perspective than originally anticipated. From a geographical perspective, Western Europe and North America were the growth drivers with increases of 35 percent and 15 percent respectively, with the rest of the world somewhat offsetting these strengths.”
DeFeo said the company’s overall outlook for 2014 remains unchanged. “We expect continued strength from our AWP segment and improvement from our Cranes and MHPS segments to drive improved performance for the second half of 2014 compared with the first six months,” he said. “While we see a slightly weaker end market that we originally anticipated, from an EPS perspective, the impact on operating earnings is expected to be somewhat offset by both a lower effective tax rate and a lower anticipated share count. We reiterate our annual outlooks for earnings per share of between $2.50 and $2.80, excluding restructuring and other unusual items, although now on net sales of between $7.3 billion and $7.5 billion.”
Terex Corp. is based in Westport, Conn.
