Generac Holdings posted $397.6 million in net sales in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $330.5 million in the first quarter of 2017, a 20.3-percent organic rise. Gross profit margin improved 230 basis points to 35.2 percent compared to 32.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017.
Net income attributable to the company was $33.6 million in the first quarter compared to $12.2 million in the same period in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $70.2 million compared to $45.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
During the quarter, Generac entered into a purchase agreement to acquire the shares of Selmec Equipos Industriales, a leading generator manufacturer and services company headquartered in Mexico City. Generac expects the transaction to close during the second quarter.
“We are excited with our start to 2018 as we continued to see very strong year-over-year sales growth in the first quarter, which drove improvements in our margins and free cash flow,” said Aaron Jagfeld, president and CEO. “The fundamental demand environment for home standby and portable generators continues to be robust, benefitting from increased power outage activity in recent quarters contributing to excellent growth in both in-home consultations and end-user activations. Additionally, shipments of commercial and industrial products also experienced strong growth during the quarter driven by the ongoing replacement cycle for mobile products, as well as organic growth within International, which led to year-over-year margin improvement in the segment.”
Commercial and industrial product sales increased from $150.8 million in last year’s first quarter to $175.1 million in the recently concluded quarter, a 16.2-percent jump. Residential product sales zoomed 23.5 percent with $190.5 million compared to $154.2 million in the year-ago frame.
Domestic segment sales increased 21.5 percent to $300.2 million compared to $247.2 million a year ago, with strong growth in shipments of home standby and portable generators. International segment sales jumped 16.9 percent to $97.4 million compared to $83.3 million in the previous Q1.
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.