The wholesale segment of Nacco Material Handling Group (NMHG) reported lower profit and higher sales for the first quarter, ended March 31.

NMHG Wholesale had a profit of USD2.5 million on sales of USD421.3 million for the 2004 first quarter, against profit of USD4.7 million on sales of USD382.6 million for the comparable 2003 quarter. However, the outlook was optimistic, the company said.

"In 2004, NMHG Wholesale continues to expect stronger lift truck markets in the Americas and Japan, strong growth in the China lift truck market and relatively flat lift truck markets in Europe and the rest of Asia-Pacific," NMHG said yesterday.

"While the first quarter backlog has risen significantly compared with a year ago, and is anticipated to remain strong, NMHG Wholesale anticipates its unit shipment levels for 2004 will remain at controlled rates to accommodate the phase-in of new products at its manufacturing facilities."

While adverse currency movements and increasing material costs may affect the rest of 2004, "NMHG Wholesale is hopeful price increases initiated in the first quarter of 2004 will help mitigate the effects of these items".

The company's wholly-owned retail dealerships reported a quarterly loss of USD2 million on sales of USD49.5 million, compared to a loss of USD1.4 million on sales of USD36.4 million last year. Increased repair and maintenance expenditures on rental contracts in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe were blamed for the higher loss.