Toro Reports Solid Net Earnings Jump in Fiscal Second Quarter
Toro Company reported net earnings of $105.7 million for its fiscal second quarter ended April 29, compared to $93.8 million for the same period a year ago, a 12.7 percent increase. Net sales increased 1.2 percent to $836.4 million, compared to $826.2 million for the same period last year.
For the first six months of the fiscal year, the Bloomington, Minn.-based manufacturer posted net earnings of $144.9 million on a net sales increase of 1.7 percent to $1,322.8 million.
“We were pleased by the strong sales in our professional segment, particularly for our landscape contractor and golf products at the start of our key selling season,” said Michael Hoffman, Toro chairman and CEO. “Similarly, we are encouraged by the positive momentum we are seeing from our specialty construction business as we continue to strengthen our position in the industry. We are experiencing strong demand for our new Dingo TX 1000 compact utility loader, which has been well received by landscape contractors and rental houses alike.
“On the residential side of the business, warmer spring weather early in the quarter was offset by poor weather in the later part of the quarter, which negatively impacted sales. Our second quarter results were also negatively impacted by lower sales of residential riding products due to channel demand pulled forward in the first quarter driven by supply issues last year. We have higher inventory levels of riding mowers than normal because we wanted to ensure we were a better supplier to our customers this year, in light of the prior year manufacturing and availability issues.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.