JLG posts strong telehandler sales in mixed three months

Sales at the Access Equipment division of JLG’s parent company Oshkosh increased 5.7% to $977.1 million in the second quarter, as a result of higher prices due to increased costs of material and components. This was offset in part by lower sales in China and Europe, said the company. 

JLG’s New Perspective event in the UK, during May this year.

However, operating income at JLG decreased in the second quarter by 38.6% to $69.4 million, compared to $113.0 million in the same period in the previous financial year.

The drop was primarily due to higher material and logistics costs and manufacturing inefficiencies, associated with supply chain challenges, said the company, which was aided in part by higher pricing and lower incentive compensation costs.

Telehandlers sales at JLG increased considerably in the second quarter with a 32.6% rise to $309.8 million from $233.5 million in the same three months of last year. That compared to a flat three months for aerial platform sales, which amounted to $451.5 in the second quarter, compared to $450.9 in the same period last year. Over the first six months JLG posted a telehandler sales figure of $539.5 million, compared to $408.7 million in the first six months last year.

Backlog in the access division stood at an incredible $3.8 billion at the end of June this year, up significantly on the $1.7 billion reported at the same time in 2021.

Supply chains and labour contraints  

Commenting on the results, John C. Pfeifer, Oshkosh Corporation’s president and chief executive officer, said “While we are encouraged by strong demand for our products and our ability to price for inflation, our second quarter results did not meet our expectations due to three principal factors: first, supply chain disruptions, reduced sales volume and caused labour inefficiencies.”

Photo: JLG

Pfeifer added that the second reason related to Defence division adjustments and inflationary pressures, while the third related to an equity investment. 

Pfeifer continued, “We continue to believe that supply chain and inflationary challenges will subside over time and we remain positive in our outlook over the next several years given our strong backlogs and key indicators within the markets we serve.”

“Second quarter performance was highlighted by sequential growth in both sales and operating income driven by a meaningful improvement in price-cost dynamics compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2022, particularly at Access Equipment.

As a result of the second quarter performance, as well as ongoing supply chain challenges and inflationary pressure, the company said it is lowering its outlook for the full 2022 financial year. “We now believe 2022 earnings per share will be approximately $3.25, or adjusted earnings per share in the range of $3.50, with our results dependent upon supply chain and inflationary conditions for the remainder of the year,” added Pfeifer.