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“Our ratio of net debt to trailing twelve-month Adjusted EBITDA declined to 3.5x at the end of the first quarter, as improved operating results moved us closer toward achieving our long-term target of at-or-below 3.0x,” stated Joseph Doolan, Chief Financial Officer of Manitex. We remain well-capitalized to support the growth of the business, with $36.6 million of total cash and availability under our credit facility.”
“We are in the early phases of a multi-year business transformation that seeks to drive value creation through a combination of commercial expansion, operational improvements and a disciplined approach to capital allocation,” continued Coffey. “At a commercial level, we will seek to increase our sales mix within higher-value product categories, with an emphasis on the North American market. Operationally, we are focused on driving economies of scale that lower our production costs and increase our production velocity. Finally, with respect to our capital allocation strategy, we will continue to prioritize debt reduction and select investments in high-return organic growth initiatives.”
“This year, our team will be stay focused on enhancing the foundational systems and processes required to support efficient growth,” continued Coffey. “In application, this means improving how we source, analyze and deploy data to drive informed business decisions. In April 2023, we successfully completed the final phase of an ERP upgrade that will support us as we enter our next phase of growth, following a similar upgrade that occurred at Rabern in December 2022. These changes are further positioning us to capitalize on strong demand within both new and existing markets, as evidenced by our strong first quarter results.”
“Today, we are reiterating our full-year 2023 adjusted EBITDA growth guidance first introduced last quarter,” continued Coffey. “Given our solid first quarter results, continued new order momentum, and sustained margin improvements, we remain on pace to deliver low double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth in 2023.”
FIRST QUARTER 2023 PERFORMANCE
The Company reported net revenue of $67.9 million in the first quarter 2023, an increase of 12.3% versus the prior-year period, driven mainly by contributions from the Rabern Rentals acquisition completed in April 2022. Revenue growth was negatively impacted by $1.2 million, or approximately 3.3%, due to lower truck chassis sales, which are largely pass-through revenue items. The Company expects lower chassis sales to be a headwind to reported sales growth and a benefit to reported gross margin in 2023.
Lifting Equipment Segment revenue was $61.1 million in the first quarter 2023, an increase of 1.1%, versus the prior-year period. As detailed previously, lower truck chassis sales impacted first quarter revenue by $1.2 million. Lifting Equipment revenue growth was driven by improving demand trends in domestic and international markets, coupled with improved throughput in manufacturing facilities.
Rental Equipment Segment revenue was $6.8 million in the first quarter 2023, supported by strong end-market demand in key North Texas markets, including the opening of the Company’s Lubbock, Texas location in March 2023. The Rabern business benefitted from the deployment of new rental fleet acquired in 2022 and market share gains in its Texas market.
Gross profit was $14.4 million in the first quarter, an increase from $10.1 million in the prior year period due to strong revenue growth, benefits from the Company’s operational improvement initiatives, and improved mix. As a result of these factors, gross profit margin increased 440 basis points to 21.2% during the first quarter 2023.
SG&A expense was $11.0 million for the first quarter, compared to $8.8 million for the comparable period last year. The increase was primarily related to SG&A expense of $1.4 million related to the Rabern acquisition, costs related to attending the Con Expo trade show, and increased stock compensation expense, partially offset by the higher transaction costs which were incurred in the first quarter 2022.