Manitowoc Approves Amendment to Credit Facility; Announces 3Q10 Preliminary Results

Oct. 13, 2010
The Manitowoc Co. this week announced it has obtained the required approval from its senior lenders for an amendment to its credit agreement that becomes effective with the pay down of term debt from the issuance of at least $500 million of senior unsecured notes.

The Manitowoc Co. this week announced it has obtained the required approval from its senior lenders for an amendment to its credit agreement that becomes effective with the pay down of term debt from the issuance of at least $500 million of senior unsecured notes.

“This amendment provides us with increased flexibility as we navigate through the challenges posed by the current economic environment, enabling us to strategically position our business to take maximum advantage of global market opportunities as our end markets recover,” said Glen Tellock, Manitowoc’s chairman and CEO.

In addition, the company announced its preliminary third-quarter 2010 expected results. The company said it expects net sales of approximately $880 million, and that operating earnings for the crane segment will total about $16 million.

The company expects to achieve total debt reduction during the quarter of approximately $40 million to $2.17 billion, and to reach total liquidity of about $480 million, consisting of cash availability and borrowing capacity under its $400 million revolving credit facility.

“While we continue to experience increasing demand in emerging markets, particularly in Asia and Latin America, the environment in North America and Western Europe remains challenging,” said Tellock. “Despite the lower than anticipated third-quarter revenues in our Crane segment, we still have an opportunity to achieve our second half of the year revenue guidance for Cranes. In addition, we are reiterating all the other elements of our previous full-year guidance.”

The company expects year-over-year declines in Crane segment revenues to be significantly lower than the decline experienced in 2009, and full-year Crane segment operating margins will be above the 3.5-percent trough margins that were experienced in 2003.

The Manitowoc Co., Manitowoc, Wis., is a multi-industry, capital goods manufacturer with more than 100 manufacturing and service facilities in 23 countries. It provides lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes and boom trucks. It also manufactures commercial foodservice equipment.