Nacco Industries Inc, maker of Hyster and Yale forklifts and parts, reported an improvement in third quarter profit and sales and cited tight management controls as a contributor.

"We expect improved operating results in the fourth quarter compared to the (corresponding 2001) quarter,'' Nacco chairman Alfred Rankin Jr said.

During the third quarter, ended September 30, Nacco shipped 15,299 forklifts, up from 14,452 shipped in the same period last year. The forklift backlog increased 30 percent from 14,400 units to 18,700.

The wholesale business recorded a profit of USD800,000 on sales of USD342.2 million. In the same quarter of 2001, the wholesale division lost USD19.7 million on sales of USD314.4 million. In addition to selling more units, Nacco cut manufacturing costs, extended its global procurement and cost control programs and saw a shift to sales of higher-margin forklifts.

Nacco was "being careful not to get out ahead of things" and was "going to be conservative" in the forklift business. "At this stage, the profit improvement is driven by our (cost-reduction) programs and not by a return of the market in a dramatic sense," Mr Rankin said.

Nacco's company-owned forklift dealerships reported a loss of USD1.6 million on sales of USD43.3 million for the quarter. Nacco hopes to bring the in-house retail operation to at least break-even status while seeking strong dealerships to operate the locations, Mr Rankin said.

For example, Nacco sold company-owned Hyster retail dealerships in Germany to Zeppelin GmbH last December and designated the buyer as its Hyster dealer in several European countries.