The Manitowoc Company Inc. (NYSE: MTW), Manitowoc, WI, reported full year sales for 2014 of $3.9 billion, a decrease of 4 percent from the previous year. Profit increased 1.9 percent to $144.5 million.
Sales for the fourth quarter were $1 billion, a 1.6 percent decrease from the same period a year ago. Profit increased 60.8 percent to $33.6 million.
“Macroeconomic headwinds continue to put downward pressure on demand for our products and solutions, which muted enterprise results for the fourth-quarter and full-year 2014. In addition, we failed to realize some opportunities that we expected to come to fruition during the quarter,” said CEO Glen E. Tellock.
On the same day it reported earnings, Manitowoc also said it plans to spin off its foodservice and cranes businesses into separate publicly traded companies. The company's cranes business had sales of $2.3 billion and foodservice had sales of $1.6 billion in 2014. It expects the spinoff to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.
"We believe the separation of cranes and foodservice will position these businesses to take advantage of anticipated long-term improvement in demand and other opportunities in their respective markets,” said Tellock.
