Milwaukee-based vehicle attachment maker Douglas Dynamics reported a 10.5 percent increase in profit for 2015 despite a slow start to winter in the company’s core markets.
The company’s comparisons to 2014 numbers were buoyed by the acquisition of Henderson Products, which occurred on Dec. 31, 2014.
The company’s net income for 2015 was $44.2 million, or $1.94 per diluted share, compared to $39.4 million, or $1.77 per share, in 2014.
Revenue was up nearly $100 million to $400.4 million, a 32 percent increase. In the fourth quarter, revenue was $118.8 million, up 18.7 percent from the previous year.
“We are very pleased with our results for the fourth quarter, especially as winter got off to a very slow start in our core markets,” said James Janik, Douglas Dynamics chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The fact we were still able to produce a very strong fourth quarter indicates that near-term pent up demand continued to unwind. While winter storm Jonas was a significant weather event, snowfall is still substantially below average across North America this winter.”
The company said it expects revenue for 2016 to be between $310 million and $370 million and earnings per share to be between $1.05 and $1.65 per share. Douglas is also expecting to include the benefit of approximately $10 million from a lawsuit over infringement of its patents.
“As we look to the future, we continue to see positive non-snowfall indicators in the market. Strong sales of light trucks, low gas prices and positive dealer sentiment all bode well for our business. While winter isn’t over yet, so far we have seen substantially below average snowfall across North America. Following two consecutive years of record performance and extraordinary growth, the nature of our business and historical patterns indicate it is unlikely we will produce a third record year in 2016,” Janik said.
