Hyster-Yale Materials Handling reported that its lift truck business Q2/15 net income of $26.2 million and revenues of $658.3 million compared with net income of $32.9 million and revenues of $684.7 million for Q2/14.  Lift truck operating profit was $33.2 million for the second quarter of 2015 compared with $47.7 million for the second quarter of 2014.  Both the Q2/14 operating profit and net income include the gain on sale of the company’s Brazil facility of $17.7 million, or $11.5 million after tax.

In Q2/15 worldwide new unit shipments increased to 22,420 units from 21,719 units in the second quarter of 2014.  Shipments were higher than in the second quarter of 2014 primarily due to a substantial increase in shipments of higher-priced lift trucks in North America.

Q2/15 bookings were approximately 21,400 units, or approximately $495 million, compared with approximately 21,600 units, or approximately $560 million, for Q2/14.

Worldwide backlog was approximately 30,900 units, or approximately $715 million, at 6/30/15 compared with approximately 28,800 units, or approximately $745 million, at 6/30/14 and approximately 31,900 units, or approximately $725 million, at 3/31/15.

Lift Truck Outlook

After stronger than expected demand in the first half of the year, the global market is expected to decline in the second half of 2015 with demand level changes mixed by region. The Americas is expected to slow in the latter half of the year after reasonably robust demand in most countries, except Brazil, in the first half.

The Brazil market is expected to remain depressed in the second half of 2015. The Europe, Middle East and Africa markets are expected to decline moderately in the second half of 2015 from the levels achieved in the first half of the year, but be moderately higher than in the second half of 2014.  Certain markets such as Russia and Saudi Arabia are expected to be lower in 2015 than in 2014 but most key markets are expected to show year over year growth.  Asia-Pacific markets are expected to be comparable to the improved levels realized in the first half of 2015, while China is expected to continue to be soft in the second half of 2015 after its 9.5% decline in the first half of the year from the comparable period in 2014.

Despite these market conditions, the company expects a moderate increase in unit shipments and parts volumes over the remainder of 2015 compared with the second half of 2014.  The increase in unit shipments in 2015 is expected to be driven primarily by Europe and North America, with moderate increases in Asia-Pacific, partially offset by a decrease in unit shipments in Brazil as a result of Brazil’s weak economy.  In addition, as a result of currently weaker foreign currencies, the company’s revenues are expected to decline modestly in the second half of 2015 compared with the comparable 2014 period, but are expected to be higher than the first half of 2015.  Revenues for the remainder of 2015 are also expected to be negatively affected by a shift in sales mix to lower-priced lift trucks.

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