JLG parent firm Oshkosh Corp reported lower profit for the fiscal-year first quarter ended 31 December but appears to have withstood the siege of activist shareholder Carl Icahn.

Icahn, through associated concerns, owns 9.48% of outstanding Oshkosh shares.

Charles L Szews, Oshkosh president and chief executive officer, has expressed a sanguine attitude toward ongoing challenges: "We know what we need to do - deliver operational and/or structural portfolio changes to enhance value for shareholders.

"We are taking action to accelerate performance across all of our businesses and create more efficient operations. We are continuing to reduce costs, lead our markets in product innovation and grow our businesses around the world," he notes in remarks during the quarterly report.

Oshkosh says its access equipment segment sales to external customers increased 73.8% to USD505.1 million for the first quarter versus the prior year comparable period. The company says the access equipment segment -primarily JLG-brand aerial work platforms and telehandlers - realised double-digit sales increases in all regions of the world and across all product lines.

"These results were driven by replacement of aged equipment in North America and parts of Europe as well as economic growth and increased product adoption in emerging markets," the company reports.

In addition to sales to external customers, access equipment segment volume included sales related to production of mine-resistant ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles (M-ATVs) for the Oshkosh defense segment of USD122.6 million and USD36.7 million, respectively, for the first quarters of fiscal 2012 and 2011.

Companywide, Oshkosh reported profit of USD38.9 million on sales of USD1.88 billion versus profit of USD99.6 million on sales of USD1.70 billion for the relevant quarters of 2012 and 2011, respectively. The recent quarter's results included expenses related to the proxy contest in conjunction with the 2012 annual shareholders' meeting on 27 January in Oshkosh.

On January 31, the independent inspector of elections for the meeting delivered a preliminary tabulation of voting results and the apparent election of the corporation's entire slate of nominees for 13 board positions. According to the tally, the board nominee with the lowest total received 40,619,097 votes and the Icahn nominee with the highest total received 39,016,262 votes. The Icahn group had six nominees.

"These voting results are only preliminary and are subject to change based upon the results of a customary review and challenge process," the company says in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.