The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE: MTW), Manitowoc, WI, reported sales of $732.2 million for the first quarter of 2011, up 7 percent from the first quarter of 2010. The sales increase was the result of a 6.9 percent increase in Foodservice segment sales, coupled with a 7.1 percent increase in Crane segment sales.

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The company recorded a loss of $52.4 million, versus a year-ago loss of $23.2 million. Current results include tax expense from the sale of Manitowoc’s Kysor/Warren business in January.

First-quarter sales in the Crane segment were $392.8 million, up 7.1 percent from the first quarter of 2010. The increase was driven primarily by growth in the Americas region and the Crane Care business.

\”While economic conditions in parts of Europe continue to be challenging, the first-quarter performance reaffirms our view that 2010 was the trough year for this segment and provides us with greater confidence in our full-year 2011 outlook, CEO Glen E. Tellock said. We continue to believe that 2011 will be a transition year, with uneven demand levels and increasing commodity costs creating certain challenges.

First-quarter sales in the Foodservice segment were up 6.9 percent to $339.4 million versus $317.6 million in the first quarter of 2010. The year-over-year increase was due to improving market conditions in most regions, as well as the introduction of new products and continued geographic penetration outpacing the market.