QUINCY, Ill. (April 27) — First quarter sales rose 23.9 percent as Titan International Inc. expanded its earthmoving, construction and mining product offerings, but the firm reported a net loss in the quarter of $2.48 million.
Titan´s sales rose to $226.3 million for the quarter vs. $182.6 million in the year-ago period. The net loss compares to earnings of $8.59 million in the prior period.
"Titan sales have shown remarkable growth as a result of our increasing market share in the off-highway segments," said Chairman and CEO Maurice Taylor Jr. in a statement. "We were pleased with the quarterly sales number; however, there is much work to be done. We continue to integrate the Continental OTR business and rationalize product lines across facilities."
The company previously said it plans to add OTR tire capacity at its plants in Freeport, Ill., and Des Moines, Iowa. The OTR tire realignment decreased the company´s gross margin for the first quarter as labor costs normally dedicated to making products were used for retooling, retraining and redistribution of equipment.
In Titan´s three business segments, agricultural tire sales rose 8.7 percent to $135.3 million; earthmoving/construction tire sales increased 136.2 percent to $75.1 million; and consumer tire sales fell 39.8 percent to $15.9 million.