Sales for JLG increased 5.9 percent to $866 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, parent company Oshkosh Corp. reported last week. The improvement was primarily the result of higher unit volumes, improved after-market parts and service sales and favorable pricing. The increase was partially offset by the absence of U.S. military telehandler sales under a contract that was completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Sales of access equipment, excluding U.S. military contract sales, rose 9.3 percent in the fiscal second quarter, overcoming the impact of severe winter weather.
Access equipment segment operating income increased 22.7 percent to $116.6 million, or 13.5 percent of sales, for the quarter, compared to $95 million or 11 percent of sales a year ago. The increase in operating income was primarily the result of higher sales volume, favorable impact of cost reduction initiatives and favorable pricing, offset in part by increased new product development spending.
The rest of Oshkosh Corp. didn’t fare as well. Fiscal second quarter net income was $71.5 million, compared to $85.9 million a year ago. Net sales were $1.68 billion, a decrease of 15.4 percent, with significantly lower defense segment sales. However, the company remains optimistic about the rest of the year.
“U.S. construction spending has continued to slowly improve,” said Charles Szews, Oshkosh Corp. CEO. “We are also seeing positive trends outside the U.S. as international orders for the first six months of fiscal 2014 grew at a double digit rate in our access equipment segment. This is encouraging as we seek to broaden our sales across the globe. We recently participated in several successful trade shows for our non-defense businesses where we launched a large number of new products that we believe will improve performance for our customers.”
JLG Industries is headquartered in McConnellsburg, Pa. Oshkosh Corp. is based in Oshkosh, Wis.
