Actuant records robust quarter

Menomonee Falls-based Actuant Corp. reported fiscal first quarter net earnings of $37.2 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $25.9 million, or 35 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s quarterly net sales grew to $392.8 million from $318.4 million.
Robert Arzbaecher, chairman and chief executive officer of Actuant, said, "Actuant delivered another strong quarter with sales, EPS and cash flow solidly above expectations. In particular, we were pleased with the first quarter’s double digit core sales growth in both the Industrial and Energy segments. Our execution was outstanding as we generated year-over-year EBITDA margin improvement in all four segments while continuing to invest in our Growth + Innovation initiatives. Finally, we completed the repurchase of nearly one million common shares, deploying approximately $20 million of the first quarter’s free cash flow on what we believe is an attractive investment. I want to thank our employees for their efforts in delivering a great start to the year."
Looking forward, Arzbaecher said, “We are off to a strong start to the year with first quarter sales, net earnings and cash flow ahead of plan. We believe we will achieve record highs for these financial metrics in fiscal 2012. The current economic environment creates uncertainty for Actuant and its customers. Therefore, despite the robust year-over-year growth we have enjoyed over the past quarters, we anticipate that economic conditions in some of our served geographies, most notably Europe, could provide for more challenging business conditions going forward.”