JLG sales hit $1 billion for third quarter

Sales in North America and Europe boosted JLG's third quarter sales to $1.04 billion, a record for the access equipment manufacturer.

Third quarter revenues were up 10.4 percent due to $558 million in aerial work platform sales, $324.4 million in telehandler sales and $156.7 million in other revenues, parent company Oshkosh reported. Operating profits for the quarter were up eight percent to $166.8 million.

"The improvement was principally the result of higher unit volumes in North America and Europe and higher pricing, offset in part by the absence of U.S. military telehandler sales under a contract that was completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013," the company reported. Overall, sales of access equipment, excluding U.S. military telehandler sales in fiscal 2013, rose 13.2 percent in the third quarter.

Oshkosh as a whole reported nine month revenues of $5.14 billion, a fall of 13 percent, while pre-tax profits fell 15 percent to $333.9 million.

Oshkosh chief executive Charlie Szews said, "We are pleased with our overall third quarter results, led by record performance in access equipment and breakthrough improvement in the commercial segment. Each area of focus in our MOVE strategy – powered by the Oshkosh Operating System – is helping us to meet our performance targets. This balanced strategy is guiding our team to produce results from the initiatives that we can control by optimising costs, innovating to meet customers’ evolving demands and winning new business in emerging markets, even as some of our markets continue to recover at an uneven pace.”

“We continue to manage the downturn in our defence business in a responsible manner. We recently completed the previously announced additional reduction in our workforce, while retaining the expertise and skill sets that are essential to support potential new business, including the U.S. Joint Light Tactical Vehicle programme and several international tactical wheeled vehicle opportunities.”

“For fiscal 2014, we are narrowing our estimate range for full year adjusted earnings per share to $3.40 to $3.55 as we head into the final quarter of the fiscal year. Looking forward, we continue to believe the outlook for our non-defence markets in 2015 is positive, and we expect MOVE initiatives to continue to contribute to margin expansion in 2015 and beyond”.