Generac posted $761.1 million in sales for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to $590.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, a 28.8-percent year-over-year increase, with demand for residential standby generators the driving force between the increase. Residential product sales increased 55 percent to $499 million in the fourth quarter compared to $323 million last year. Net income attributable to the company during the fourth quarter was $125 million, or $1.97 per share, as compared to $70 million, or $1.12 per share, for the same period of 2019.
As previously announced in October, Generac finalized its acquisition of Enbala Power Networks, a Denver-based provider of distributed energy optimization and control software that helps support the operational stability of the world’s power grids.
For the full year, the company reported a 12.7-percent year-over-year increase with a record $2,485.2 million compared to $2,204.3 million in 2019, which includes $32 million of contribution from acquisitions. Total core sales growth for the year was about 12 percent. Residential product sales increased 36 percent to $1.56 billion, compared to $1.14 billion in 2019. Commercial & Industrial product sales for the year slid 19 percent to $702 million, compared to $872 million in 2019.
Adjusted net income was a record $412 million for the year, or $6.47 per share, compared to $318 million or $5.06 per share in 2019. Adjusted EBITDA was a record $584 million or 23.5 percent of net sales, compared to $454 million or 20.6 percent of net sales in 2019. Cash flow from operations was a record $487 million, compared to $309 million in 2019. Free cash flow was a record $427 million, compared to $251 million in 2019.
“We continued to experience incredible demand for our home standby generators due to significantly higher power outage activity in recent quarters and the ‘home as a sanctuary’ trend gained further traction, resulting in substantial backlog for these products as we enter 2021,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and CEO. “In addition, shipments of our pwrcell energy storage systems continued to further ramp during the quarter and were significantly higher on a sequential basis, and have considerable momentum heading into 2021. C&I product shipments continued to be negatively impacted from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the year-over-year revenue decline moderated as we saw certain end markets began to recover.
“2020 was a very challenging year and I am extremely proud of the way our teams responded, particularly as we maintained operations with our designation as an essential business. In the face of a global pandemic, our record performance during the year was even more impressive as we made important progress with our evolution into an energy technology solutions company. We expect 2021 to be another very strong year given the significant momentum for our residential products and an expected return to growth for our C&I products. Our strong balance sheet and significant liquidity puts Generac in the enviable position to further capitalize on our key mega trends and drive additional shareholder value by expanding our addressable markets.”
The company is initiating its full-year 2021 net sales growth guidance to be approximately 25 to 30 percent compared to the prior year on an as-reported basis, which includes approximately 2 percent of favorable impact from acquisitions and foreign currency. Adjusted EBITDA margin, before deducting for non-controlling interests, is expected to be approximately 24 to 25 percent, which is an increase from the 23.5 percent reported for the full-year 2020.
