Nacco Material Handling Group (NMHG) has reported major financial improvements for the 2002 fourth quarter and the year ended December 31.

NMHG Wholesale boosted quarterly profit to USD12.6 million on sales of USD399.0 million, compared to a quarterly loss of USD11.7 million on sales of USD314.0 million in 2001.

Strong worldwide demand led to a 25 percent increase in the fourth quarter's forklift volumes to 18,032 units, compared to 14,451 for the comparable 2001 quarter. Further improvements were expected, a company report said.

"In 2003, NMHG Wholesale anticipates a modest strengthening of the Americas market, a relatively flat European market and a slight improvement in the Asia-Pacific market," NMHG said.

"The potential for war and continuing economic uncertainty in the US and Europe could affect overall shipments in 2003."

NMHG Wholesale reported a USD8 million charge for the phase-out of its Lenoir, North Carolina, plant and the restructuring of its Irvine, Scotland, facility, which were announced in December.

In year-end results, NMHG Wholesale logged profit of USD21.5 million on sales of USD1.4 billion, compared to a 2001 loss of USD14.1 million on sales of USD1.5 billion.

The retail side of the business showed progress and was working to achieve at least break-even results for 2003, the company said.

NMHG Retail posted a quarterly loss of USD2.6 million on sales of USD43.3 million, an improvement on the USD14.6 million loss on sales of USD58.0 million it reported in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Nacco is eliminating inter-company transactions between its wholesale operations and company-owned retail dealerships. In January, the retail unit sold its only wholly-owned US dealer to MH Logistics, an independent Hyster dealer with operations in seven states in the USA.

NMHG Retail had a full-year loss of USD9.2 million on sales of USD172.2 million, compared to a loss of USD35.3 million on sales of USD209.1 million in 2001.

The Nacco Industries group reported a full-year profit of USD42.4 million on sales of USD2.55 billion compared to a loss of USD36.0 million on sales of USD2.68 billion in 2001.