“Last quarter we indicated that backlog would begin to decline from historically high levels,” continued Coffey. “The decline is driven by higher production levels, seasonal customer order timing, and modest order intake declines in Western Europe. Our total backlog at quarter end was $197 million and remains 3-times pre-pandemic levels. Year-to-date book-to-build ratios are also strong as is customer sentiment. Given favorable underlying demand within core infrastructure, energy and mining markets, we remain confident that Manitex will continue to deliver the above-market growth outlined in our multi-year plan.”
“Our net debt to trailing twelve-month adjusted EBITDA declined to 2.9x at the end of the third quarter, below our 2023 target of 3.0x,” stated Joseph Doolan, Chief Financial Officer of Manitex. “Throughout 2023, we maintained high levels of working capital, slowing our debt reduction plans. We remain highly focused on further improving working capital efficiency over the coming quarters. Our total liquidity of nearly $29 million, which includes total cash and availability under our credit facilities, provides us with ample financial flexibility to support our organic growth initiatives into 2024.”
“At Manitex, we’re building a highly efficient equipment solutions platform equipped to drive sustained, profitable growth through the cycle,” stated Coffey. “Our third quarter results highlight both the measurable progress we’ve made on our internal initiatives in a relatively short period of time, while signaling the significant growth potential evident within our business. Based on our strong third quarter results and the continued momentum in our business, we are pleased to be raising our full-year 2023 guidance and remain on-track to achieve our 2025 financial targets detailed in our Elevating Excellence strategy.”
THIRD QUARTER 2023 PERFORMANCE
Manitex reported net revenue of $71.3 million in the third quarter 2023, an increase of 9.7% versus the prior-year period, driven by growth in the lifting segment. Revenue growth was negatively impacted by $4.0 million, or approximately 6%, due to lower truck chassis sales, which are largely pass-through revenue items. The Company continues to expect 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 $63.7 million in the third quarter 2023, an increase of 11%, versus the prior-year period, or an increase of 21% when excluding the impact of truck chassis sales in the quarter. The sales growth is a direct result of improvements in manufacturing throughput, as well as favorable demand trends in both domestic and international markets. In North America, strong project activity from energy and infrastructure markets continues to drive robust activity levels, while international markets are benefitting from infrastructure projects in Europe and continued strength from mining activity in South America.
Rental Equipment Segment revenue was $7.6 million in the third quarter 2023, supported by strong end-market demand in key North Texas markets, including contribution from the Lubbock, Texas location that opened in March 2023. The Rabern business benefitted from the deployment of new rental fleet acquired in 2022, pricing gains, and our expansion into the Lubbock market.
Total gross profit was $16.6 million in the third quarter, an increase from $12.3 million in the prior-year period due to revenue growth, operational improvement initiatives, improved pricing realization and sales mix. As a result of these factors, gross profit margin increased 427 basis points to 23.3% during the third quarter 2023. The higher US-based steel prices that were a headwind during the second quarter were less of a factor during the third quarter, as the Company has successfully implemented product surcharges in an effort to offset the rising price of steel.