Milwaukee-based Badger Meter Inc. reported first quarter net earnings of $6.2 million, or 42 cents per share, up from $3.3 million, or 22 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.
The company’s quarterly net sales grew to $76.2 million, up 32.9 percent from $57.4 million a year earlier. The most recent quarter included $7.4 million in sales from Racine Federated Inc., which Badger Meter acquired on Jan. 31.
“We are pleased with our strong first quarter performance. As we anticipated, utilities in the municipal water market returned to more normal buying patterns during the quarter. We are seeing more stability in the market than we did last year, which was negatively impacted by a slowdown in purchasing by municipalities due to uncertainties about the economy and potential budget reductions,” said Richard Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter.
Meeusen said the first quarter sales increase was led by higher sales of Badger Meter’s Orion family of metering technology systems for the municipal water market and the addition of Racine Federated.
