Manitowoc Co. Inc. (MTW), a manufacturer of cranes and related products and foodservice equipment, reported Wednesday a narrower loss for the fourth quarter, despite a 31.1% drop in net sales. For the fourth quarter, net loss attributable to the Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based company narrowed to $23.5 million or $0.18 per share from $200.4 million or $1.54 per share in the previous year. Loss from continuing operations was $22.4 million or $0.17 per share, compared to a loss of $78.4 million or $0.60 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding special items, adjusted loss from continuing operations was $9.3 million or $0.07 per share, in comparison with a profit of $59.4 million or $0.46 per share in the year earlier. Special items for the quarter include loss on sale of product lines, net of income taxes of $7.2 million, restructuring expense of $0.7 million, loss on debt extinguishment of $5.3 million and a loss from discontinued operations totaling $1.1 million.
Special items for the prior-year period include loss on purchase price hedges, net of income taxes of $117.7 million, restructuring expense of $13.6 million, loss on debt extinguishment of $2.7 million, earnings from discontinued operations of $53 million and goodwill impairment of discontinued operations of $175 million. On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.02 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Net sales for the quarter dropped significantly to $838.7 million from $1.22 billion in the same quarter last year. Eleven analysts estimated revenues of $875.41 million for the quarter. According to the company, the decrease in sales was mainly due to a 49.1% drop in the Crane segment, partially offset by a 31.3% increase in the Foodservice segment. Segment-wise, net sales in the Foodservice were $358.5 million, up from $273 million in the prior-year quarter. The company said the year-over-year increase was mainly due to the acquisition of Enodis Plc in October 2008. Crane segment net sales were $480.2 million, down from $943.6 million in the year-ago period. The company noted that on a sequential quarter basis, fourth quarter sales were essentially even with the sales of the the third quarter. For the full year, net loss attributable to the company was $704.2 million or $5.41 per share, compared to net profit of $10 million or $0.08 per share in the prior year. Loss from continuing operations was $644.1 million or $4.94 per share, compared to earnings of $100.3 million or $0.76 per share in the preceding year. Excluding special items, net earnings from continuing operations were $46.8 million or $0.36 per share, in comparison with earnings of $368.6 million or $2.80 per share reported in the prior year. Annual sales declined 16% to $3.78 billion from $4.5 billion in the previous year.
Glen Tellock, chairman and chief executive officer said, "Although we continue to be faced with a challenging business environment, we are encouraged by recently improving metrics and trends for 2010. We clearly exceeded our adjusted targets for cash flow and debt reduction, foodservice margin targets were achieved, and crane segment revenue was maintained at third-quarter levels. We also expect that 2010 will see increasing benefits from the operational efficiencies, process improvements, cost reductions, and synergies that we implemented in 2009." Looking ahead, Manitowoc expects Crane segment revenues in the first half of 2010 to be significantly lower than the prior-year period, while anticipates Crane segment revenue gains in the second half of 2010, compared to the same period last year.
Further, for fiscal 2010, the company expects Foodservice segment revenues to improve modestly, and operating margins to continue their solid improvement. In the Crane segment, the company anticipates the year-over-year percentage decline in revenues to be significantly lower than the 41.2% decline in 2009. MTW closed Tuesday's regular trading at $11.91 on the NYSE.
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