Oshkosh Corporation today reported, excluding impairment charges, fiscal 2008 third quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19, on sales of $2 billion and net income of $88.8 million.
Including pre-tax charges of $175.2 million ($2.33 per share, net of taxes) related to the previously announced non-cash impairment of intangible assets of the Geesink Norba Group (Geesink), the company's European refuse collection vehicle business, the company reported a net loss of $84.3 million, or $1.14 per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. These results compare with EPS of $1.21 on sales of $1.8 billion and net income of $90.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2007.
"We delivered solid results in our core businesses in the face of some very challenging end markets," said Robert G. Bohn, chairman and chief executive officer of Oshkosh Corporation. "Strong sales of defense products and aerial work platforms highlighted our performance."
"In our commercial segment, we met very low domestic demand for concrete mixers with a robust increase in exports. Our Pierce fire truck business continues to lead the way in our fire & emergency segment with higher order flow in a market that is currently hampered by soft municipal spending.
"Looking to the fourth fiscal quarter, our EPS forecast of $0.50 to $0.65 includes lower expectations for our access equipment segment. We expect weak residential and non-residential construction in North America and certain areas of Western Europe to limit sales volume in the quarter. We also expect higher steel, fuel and other costs to have a more significant impact on fourth quarter earnings for the access equipment segment, in advance of our product selling price increases, which are effective October 1.
"We will continue to aggressively cut costs and optimize our operations for the benefit of our stakeholders. We are confidently moving forward with a series of actions that will improve our competitive position and our ability to succeed in difficult markets. Additionally, we will continue to invest prudently in growth initiatives to benefit our business when economies recover."