Source: www.TurfMagazine.com
The Toro Company has reported net earnings of $31.4 million, or $0.53 per share, on a net sales increase of 4.9 percent to $444.7 million for its fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 1, 2013. In the comparable fiscal 2012 period, the company delivered net earnings of $19.9 million, or $0.33 per share, on net sales of $423.8 million. The per share” data for the comparative periods has been adjusted to reflect a two-for-one stock split effective June 29, 2012.
The Toro Company is also announcing that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a Chinese micro-irrigation company, subject to applicable regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The company continues to expect revenue growth of about 4 to 5 percent for fiscal 2013. With the expectations that the accelerated margin and earnings benefit of the Tier 4 transition will moderate through the year, the earnings expectations are being raised largely to reflect the benefit of tax rate improvement. The company now expects fiscal 2013 net earnings to be about $2.40 to $2.45 per share. For the second quarter the company expects to report net earnings per share of about $1.20.