Photo by Alta Equipment Group
66c675e8125858821d46b70f Alta Techs With Wheel Loader

Alta Equipment Posts 4.2-Percent Revenue Increase in Second Quarter of 2024

Aug. 21, 2024
Rental revenues increased from $49.6 million to $53.7 million, an 8.3-percent hike, while sales of rental equipment jumped 16.6 percent from $33.2 million to $38.7 million.

Alta Equipment posted $488.1 million in second quarter 2024 total revenues, compared to $468.4 million in the second quarter of 2023, a 4.2-percent increase. Rental revenues increased from $49.6 million to $53.7 million, an 8.3-percent hike, while sales of rental equipment jumped 16.6 percent from $33.2 million to $38.7 million.

Revenues from parts sales spiked 9.4 percent and service revenues increased 10.9 percent.

For the first six months of the year, total revenues were $929.7 million, up from $889.1 million for the same period a year ago, a 4.6-percent increase, while rental revenues went from $93.1 million to $102.2 million, a 9.8-percent jump.  Service revenues were up 8.6 percent and parts sales 8 percent. New and used equipment sales dropped 1.2 percent in the second quarter and increased 1.2 percent in Q224.

“Our business rebounded well this quarter from the seasonally challenged first quarter and in the face of a moderating market environment for new equipment sales,” said Alta CEO Ryan Greenawalt. “Notably, our product support business performed well in this moderating environment as we continued to achieve organic growth on increased field population with revenues increasing to a record of $144.2 million, an increase of $13.2 million from a year ago. Additionally, our Material Handling segment also continued on its steady path of profitable growth as we progressively execute on a solid sales backlog and gain market share in strategic regions and product categories throughout our footprint.

Master Distribution rebound

“We also saw a rebound in our Master Distribution segment as revenue in the quarter was $16.7 million versus $12.8 million in the first quarter. While we benefited from a return to normal seasonality and a strong quarter from our Material Handling segment and our product support business lines, market unit volumes in our Construction Equipment segment remain under pressure due to uncertainty regarding interest rates and the election outcome, especially affecting small to mid-size contractors. Additionally, our construction equipment sales margins continued to be impacted by the oversupply of competitive new equipment on the market in the quarter.

“In the second quarter, we gained further traction in our eMobility segment, which expands the Alta dealership model into the over-the-road commercial vehicle industry with a focus on commercial electric vehicles and fueling and charging infrastructure. To that end, we are excited about our new partnership with Harbinger Motors, a new manufacturer of best-in-class commercial electric vehicles in the medium-duty truck space. With the inclusion of Harbinger to our portfolio and the traction gained with new customers in the quarter, we now have approximately $25 million of sales backlog in the eMobility business that we expect the majority to convert to revenues in the second half of 2024.”

Greenawalt expressed optimism about the company’s business in the coming few years. 

“As we head into the second half of 2024 and into 2025, cost and fleet optimization and other initiatives to streamline our business will be high priorities as we calibrate to the transitioning environment. Despite what we believe to be potentially transitory headwinds for new equipment sales, our long-term outlook for our Construction Equipment segment remains positive. Infrastructure-related project pipelines are significant. We expect state DOT budgets to remain elevated in 2025 and spending on federal infrastructure programs is still in the early innings. In the Material Handling segment, we’re proud to be a world-class partner of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling and believe that their product portfolio and commitment to advanced technologies combined with our diversified end-markets will allow us to gain market share in key regions in the years to come, regardless of volatility in the macro environment.”

Alta Equipment Group, No. 22 on the RER 100, is headquartered in Livonia, Mich.

About the Author

Michael Roth | Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.