The common stock shares of Generac Holdings Inc. skyrocketed $5.61 to trade at $33.94 per share this morning as investors speculated that demand will grow for the Waukesha company’s portable generators in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
As a result of the current major power outage activity, the company is raising its sales growth guidance for full-year 2012 to the 40-percent range over the prior year.
Generac’s diluted net income per common share for 2012 is now expected to be in the range of $1.21 to $1.27, with adjusted diluted net income per common share of $2.95 to $3.00, compared with the $2.65 to $2.70 per share range previously expected.
“The events of the last few days continue to demonstrate for home owners and business owners the importance of having a backup plan for their power needs. Automatic standby generators have emerged as a cost effective and increasingly important part of those backup plans. As a result of the increased awareness these outage events provide, adoption rates for home standby and light commercial generators have accelerated over the last several years.” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and chief executive officer. “Shipments of home standby generators were again strong during the third quarter and have continued to build towards a new and higher baseline level of demand over the longer-term. In our commercial and industrial markets, we continue to capitalize on our leadership position in natural gas backup generators as demand for these products continues to gain traction. In addition, our Magnum branded light towers and mobile generators continue to perform well and we remain excited about the strategic fit of these products as they provide additional diversification and cross-selling opportunities to our business.”
Generac reported third quarter net income today of $25.5 million, or 37 cents per share, down from $37.4 million, or 55 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. The company’s quarterly net sales grew to $300.6 million from $239.3 million a year earlier.
Trading on Wall Street resumed today for the first time since last Friday, as the East Coast begins to bail out from the hurricane.
