Canadian distributor and rental company Wajax Corp. today announced much improved fourth-quarter results, with a small revenue increase for the full year of 2010.

For the fourth quarter, Wajax posted CA$316.6 million in revenue (about U.S. $325 million), compared with CA$259.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, a 22.2-percent jump. Wajax' Power Systems revenue grew 40 percent, Mobile Equipment jumped 20 percent and Industrial Accounts 16 percent.

Net earnings for the quarter were $15 million, compared to $8.3 million in the year-ago quarter, an 81-percent hike. For the full year, net earnings were CA$55 million, compared with $34.2 million in 2009.

For the full year, company revenue was CA$1.12 billion, compared with $1.01 billion in 2009, a 10.4-percent hike.

"With a 61-percent increase in net earnings, we are very pleased with our overall 2010 results," said Neil Manning, Wajax president and CEO. "As the year progress we saw steady improvement in the vast majority of our end markets coming off the recession in 2009.”

Manning was bullish in the company’s expectations for 2011, but cautioned that demand for commodities could complicate lead times.

“Looking forward to 2011, we expect overall demand for our products and services to continue to grow led by the mining and energy sectors, as evidenced by our strengthened backlog position at the end of 2010,” he added. “However, with the continuing robust worldwide demand for most commodities, the increased requirement for mining equipment has begun to once again push out delivery lead times. That said, with a steadily expanding economy and the successful implementation of our growth strategies, we expect to generate a further increase in revenue and earnings before income taxes in 2011.”

Formerly known as Wajax Income Fund, the company has converted to a corporate structure and is now known as Wajax Corp.

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Wajax Corp. is No. 37 on the RER 100.