Toro Co. posted net earnings of $45 million or $0.41 per share on a net sales increase of 6.1 percent to $515.8 million for its fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 3. For the same period a year ago, Toro reported net earnings of $39.3 million or $0.35 per share, on net sales of $486.4 million. Toro said the record first quarter results were driven by performance across its professional businesses.
“The company is off to a solid start for the year with record results for the first quarter,” said Richard Olson, Toro president and CEO. “Growth in the professional segment was a key driver with new product offerings in multiple areas. The landscape contractor businesses experienced strong demand for the new lines of professional zero-turn mowers. Also contributing to the momentum were strong sales in our golf, Boss snow and ice management and specialty construction businesses.
“We continue to focus on delivering new products with customer-valued innovation. The new Titan HD and Exmark Radius mowers have been well-received by landscape professionals and acreage owners. Demand remains strong for the new Boss EXT extendable plows and the lighter HTX plows for half-ton trucks as well as V-Box spreaders. In our micro-irrigation business, we are pleased by the success of our Aqua-Traxx tape products with flow control. Finally, at the recent Golf Industry and Sports Turf Manager Shows, excitement continues for the GTX utility vehicle line that combines tremendous versatility with uncompromising ride quality.”
Toro continues to expect revenue growth for fiscal 2017 to be about 3 to 4 percent, and now expects net earnings per share of about $2.25 to $2.30 for the year. For the second quarter, Toro expects net earnings of about $1 per share.
Professional segment net sales for the first quarter were $371.8 million, a 9.7-percent hike compared to $338.8 million last year. Earnings for the segment were $68.2 million, up 10.7 percent from $61.6 million in the year-ago period.
Residential segment net sales for the fiscal first quarter were $140.4 million, down 2.7 percent from $144.3 million a year ago, although retail demand for snowthrowers was positive in North America.
