JLG sales drop -21.5% in first quarter

JLG announced its Q1 net sales to December 31 were down -21.5% to $536.7 million compared to the same period last year.

The company said the decrease was due to “lower market demand resulting from the economic downturn as a result of Covid-19.” Expectations are to return to revenue growth in the North American access market by the second half of 2021, and that it is “pleased with progress of negotiations with rental company customers.”

Wilson R. Jones, chief executive officer of JLG parent company Oshkosh Corporation, said: “While the timing of recovery in our Access Equipment segment remains difficult to predict, we are confident in the strength and resilience of our businesses as we continue to adapt and pivot during the pandemic. 

“Although we are not providing quantitative expectations with today’s announcement, we are seeing improvement in our end markets and believe that we are well positioned to grow revenues in the back half of fiscal 2021 and retain a positive long-term outlook.”

JLG said aging customer fleets will need to be replaced, which supports a positive outlook for the company, however it has been managing lower production across its U.S. facilities to align with demand. Specifically, the company will increase its manufacturing output in Q2, but noted that will still be below normalized pre-pandemic levels. By the end of Q2, JLG hopes to return to full production.

Backlog for the company is down -23.7% at $771.5 million compared to the prior year.

Oshkosh Corp. as a whole reported a decrease of -7% to $1.58 billion for consolidated net sales as a result of a decrease in sales for JLG and its Commercial segments.