Manitex International Inc reports a 53% gain in profit on a 39% climb in sales for the first quarter ended 31 March, compared tothe 2012 first quarter.

"Our first quarter results were in line with expectations with sales continuing to show dramatic growth over last year's levels and modest [growth] compared to the previous quarter," David Langevin, chairman and CEO, says.

Bridgeview-based Manitex reports profit of USD1.9 million on sales of USD59.6 million for the first quarter. The 2012 first quarter's profit was USD1.3 million on sales of USD42.8 million.

Langevin credits the gains to improvement in commercial construction activity. "[About] 60% of the increase was driven by Manitex boom truck products with much of the balance from the material handling operations," including Manitex Liftking and CVS Ferrari srl, the company reports.

For the industry, Langevin anticipates "a continuation of modest economic improvement overall with no growth in Europe".. For Manitex, he expects to see the "business model remain focused with 50% of revenues coming from energy and 50% from general commercial markets".

Manitex's engineered lifting solutions include boom truck and rough terrain cranes, rough terrain forklifts, special mission-oriented vehicles, container handling equipment, and specialised engineered trailers.