Manitowoc to focus on debt repayment but won't rule out "compelling acquisitions"

By Paul A. Harris

St. Louis, Nov. 11 - Debt repayment will be the primary focus of Wisconsin crane-maker Manitowoc Co., Inc., according to statements made by its top corporate officers on Tuesday at the Robert W. Baird & Co. Industrial Technology Conference in Chicago.

However Terry Growcock, Manitowoc chairman and chief executive officer, would not rule out "compelling acquisitions," especially in the food service sector.

Vice president and chief financial officer Tim Wood commented that in the wake of Manitowoc's acquisitions of Grove Worldwide and Potain in 2001, the company had approximately $681 million of debt on its books, bringing its debt-to-capital level to approximately 70%.

Through Sept. 30, 2003, Wood added, the company had paid down $84 million of debt, bringing its debt-to-capital level to 64.6%. However, the Manitowoc CFO pointed out that those figures came in before the company sold $150 million of 10-year senior unsecured notes (B1/B+) on Nov. 3.

Wood said that Manitowoc's fiscal goal is to bring debt-to-capital "down to the mid-fifties."

Both Growcock and Wood mentioned that debt reduction strategies, going forward, could include inventory reductions and divestiture of non-core assets.

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