Essex Rental Corp. Reports 2011 Fourth Quarter And Year-End Results

Essex Rental Corp. (Nasdaq: ESSX) ("Essex") today announced its unaudited consolidated results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2011 Highlights

• Crawler crane utilization increased to 39.8% for the year ended December 31, 2011 from 37.5% for the year ended December 31, 2010;
• Average monthly crawler crane rental rates increased by $523 to $16,391 for the three month period ended December 31, 2011 from $15,868 for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Crawler crane utilization decreased slightly over the same period from 39.5% to 38.3%;
• For the year ended December 31, 2011, utilization on our rough terrain fleet was 62.0% validating our strategy of increasing the number of units in this segment of our rental fleet by 25.5% during the preceding 12 months;
• Utilization rates for our self erecting tower cranes remained relatively flat on a sequential quarter over quarter basis while utilization on larger tower cranes improved 2.5% over the same period and on certain units is approaching 60%; and
• New, used and rental equipment sales totaled $5.4 million for the three month period ended December 31, 2011, a 6.9% decrease from $5.8 million for the three month period ended September 30, 2011.

CEO Comments

Ron Schad, President and CEO of Essex stated, “During the fourth quarter of 2011 we generated results that were consistent with the business levels that we have experienced throughout the entire year. Rental rates continue to be stable and on a full year basis we achieved a 2.3% increase in crawler crane utilization from 37.5% in 2010 to 39.8% in 2011. We are continuing to focus on selling rental fleet assets with low utilization such as certain classes of crawler cranes and other non-core assets with shorter economic lives, which we believe generate a return of capital instead of a return on capital. These non-core assets that were acquired as part of the Coast Acquisition include aerial work platforms and forklifts. Following the implementation of our IT systems at Coast, we commenced a number of proactive initiatives which are aimed at enhancing both our equipment rental and our parts and service profitability. We have also successfully completed the consolidation of Coast’s finance and accounting functions within our Buffalo Grove, Illinois headquarters. We expect that this consolidation will generate approximately $350,000 in annual savings.”

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