Titan Machinery, a leading network of full-service construction and agricultural equipment stores, said it expects to post revenue of about $440 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 ended April 30, compared to $421.7 million in the first quarter a year ago. However, the anticipated revenue is about $50 million less than previously anticipated, reflecting a probable shortfall of about $35 million in the agricultural segment and about $15 million in the construction segment.
The lower-than-expected revenue was primarily the result of abnormally delayed spring weather combined with cautionary agriculture customer sentiment and continued challenging industry conditions in the construction segment.
Preliminary pre-tax loss for the fiscal first quarter is expected to be in the range of $700,000 to $1.2 million, compared to $12.4 million pre-tax income in the year-ago period. Preliminary pre-tax income is expected to be about $7 million less than the company previously anticipated, about $3.5 million each from agriculture and construction.
Titan Machinery is updating its annual fiscal 2014 guidance based on preliminary first-quarter fiscal 2014 results and its increased visibility into market conditions, adjusting its annual earnings per share range of $1.70 to $2 from the previous range of $2 to $2.30 per share.
“Both segments of our business were impacted by the abnormally late spring weather, which extended through the end of our first quarter,” said David Meyer, Titan Machinery chairman and CEO. “We expect the agriculture segment revenue that was delayed in the first quarter will be realized in the coming quarters because we believe the revenue impact in the first quarter was primarily a timing issue. In addition to the late spring weather, our construction segment was also affected by the challenging conditions in this industry and the cost of expanding our network.
“I believe we will see improvements in our construction segment in the second quarter and throughout the remainder of fiscal 2014.”
Also a strong player in equipment rental, West Fargo, N.D.-based Titan Machinery is No. 36 on the RER 100.
