Manitowoc Co. posted lower-than-expected third-quarter results, hurt by weakness in its crane business. Manitowoc’s crane segment has been severely affected by lack of access to credit on the part of many construction firms, causing them to cut capital spending on new projects. Sales declined 8.5 percent to $438.8 million in the third quarter.
However, Manitowoc expects the segment to improve in 2011 because of increasing utilization rates in North America, with dealers likely to increase inventory.
Manitowoc has been shifting its focus from the crawler crane and boom truck business towards its foodservice equipment segment, which grew 9 percent to $439 million in the third quarter. Manitowoc reported net income of $1.4 million in the quarter, compared with a net loss of $12.6 million in the third quarter of 2009.
